Thrice Defied
by Rae Kelly
Summary: Snape's last request was for Harry to listen to Lucius Malfoy and to trust him...but what Lucius has to say will change his life forever. AU. Post DH.
1. Chapter 1

The Horocruxes had been destroyed. Voldemort had been defeated. He had repaired his wand with the Elder Wand and returned the Elder Wand to Dumbledore's tomb. Now there was just one thing left for him to do. Grant the last request of the man who he had spent the last seven years hating…who he thought had hated him.

If he had been asked the day before he never would have granted the request. But after seeing the man's memories and learning the truth, he knew he had to do this. The man had been guiding him and protecting him all along, while pretending to hate him.

Allowing Ron and Hermione to go ahead of him, he stood in the doorway of the Great Hall, searching for the person he needed to see. After a moment their eyes met and he gestured for the man to follow him. Without waiting to see if the man responded, he turned and made yet another trek to the headmaster's office.

He perched on the edge of the headmaster's desk and waited for the man to join him. It didn't take long. "Look, I don't trust you. But Snape did and he told me to trust you." He paused and took a deep breath. "He told me to ask to see the memories."

The man stared at him for a moment before nodding. He moved over to the pensieve and carefully removed memory after memory and placed them in the basin, before turning back to the young man. "They are all there."

The younger man stood and together they entered the memories.

--

_Two young men sat in a lavish office, each with a glass in their hand. The older of the two was fair and aristocratic and looked quite at home in this room. The other had __dark hair__ and a hooked nose as was clearly out of his element._

_The blond laughed. "I'm not the dark lord, Sev. You can relax, you know."_

_Sev didn't relax, but he did at least get a little more comfortable in his chair. "I'm just not used to your house for any reason other than meeting you here so that we can go to dark lord together."_

"_That's not the only times, Sev, but I'll forgive your lie my friend. I have good news to share."_

_He took a sip of the wine in his glass. "Do share, Lucius, you old snake."_

"_As godfather, Cissy and I wanted you to be the first to know…"_

_Severus nearly choked on his drink. "Godfather? You two want me to be godfather?"_

_Lucius laughed at his old friend one more. "Of course, Sev. Neither of us has brothers and we are not about to ask Bella or LeStrange to be godparents for our child. He's almost as crazy as she is. I've considered you a little brother since I was assigned your prefect at school. You're the natural choice."_

"_I'm…I'm…I don't know what to say."_

"_Try 'I'm honored and I accept'…"_

"_I am deeply honored. And I do accept, _brother_," Severus told him, a faint smile on his face._

_--_

_The scene blurred and reformed, they were once more in the office with the young Lucius and Severus._

"_What did the healer tell Cissy?" Severus asked. "Am I to have a godson or goddaughter?"_

"_Better start saving your money, Sev, because you'll have two brooms to buy."_

"_Two?"_

_Lucius laughed at the look on his friend's face. "Yes. The healer told us told that we will be having twin sons."_

--

_Once again the scene blurred and reformed. This time they were in the nursery at St. Mungo's. Lucius, Narcissa, Severus and a familiar looking man that he couldn't quite place stood over the cribs talking softly._

"_You have two fine sons, Lucius," the man was saying. "Your father would be proud."_

"_Thank you, Frank," Lucius replied. He looked over at the crib nearest the man. "Your son looks strong and healthy."_

_Severus ignored the other three as he moved over to the third crib, staring down at the baby inside. Lily's son. Sighing, he moved back over beside his new godsons._

_A few minutes later a fourth man walked into the nursery. He greeted Frank and then nodded at the other two. He reached down and picked up the baby that Severus had just been looking at. After a few moments, he let out a strangled sob and hung his head._

"_James…" Frank said, stepping toward the man._

"_The healer told us this might happen," James whispered. "Lily barely made it through the delivery…our son wasn't strong enough. He's gone now."_

_Narcissa and Lucius turned to look at each other as if both having the same thought at the same time. They stared at each other for a moment before Lucius nodded. Narcissa turned to the crib where her sons lay and picked up one of them. She pressed a kiss to the tiny forehead, before placing the newborn into his father's arms. _

_She drew her wand and gesturing, began chanting softly in Latin. Before their very eyes, the appearances of the two babies began to change. Once finished, she reached out and gently took the dead baby from James as Lucius stepped forward. "James…your son…" he said, handing the baby in his arms to the other man._

"_Lucius…you can't…" James started to protest._

_It was Narcissa that stopped him. "We are doing this as much for you and Lily as for ourselves. You know about the prophecy as well as we do, James. Thrice defied…you and Lily, Frank and Alice, and even Lucius and myself have all thrice defied him. It could be any one of us. This way you and Lily have your son…and just perhaps one of our sons will survive this war."_

--

_When the scene reformed again they found themselves Snape's office. "What happened?" Lucius demanded._

"_He survived the attack," Snape answered. "Dumbledore has placed him somewhere._

_Lucius' hands shook as he fought to control his anger. "What has he done to my son?"_

_Severus sighed. "He won't tell him."_

"_Damn that man!"_

"_I know you want your son back, Luc, but I think right now you need to focus on staying out of __Azkaban__. They will be rounding us up soon."_

_--_

_When the scene reformed this time, they were standing on Platform 9 and ¾ as Lucius prepared to send __Draco__ to Hogwarts for the first time. Lucius knelt in front of his son. "I need you to do something very important for me, dragon."_

"_What is it, Father?" the young blond asked._

"_Harry Potter will be starting his first year at Hogwarts with you this year. Do what you must to befriend him, Draco."_

_The boy nodded. "What if I can't?"_

"_Try your best, son. If you can't. then do what you can to must to keep near him…even if it means causing problems for him."_

_--_

_This time they found themselves in Snape's office once more. "Quirrell tried to kill him yesterday, Luc."_

"_Draco owled me last night," Lucius said, sitting across from his friend. "Who performed the counter curse?"_

_Severus merely gave the man a dirty look._

"_Thank you for saving him."_

"_He's my godson, isn't he? You suspected any less of me?"_

_--_

_They once again found themselves in Lucius' study. "Dobby," the man called._

_The familiar house elf appeared before him. "Yes, Master Lucius, sir?"_

"_I want you to go protect Harry Potter."_

"_Yes, Master Lucius. I will protect him," the elf said with a bow._

"_If you fail me Dobby, I will be most displeased."_

_--_

Having seen enough, Harry pulled himself from the memories and dropped to the floor, leaning against the headmaster's desk. He watched as Lucius lowered himself to sit beside him. "I won't…can't…no more…" Harry told him.

"I understand, Harry. It's a lot to take in," Lucius said.

They sat in silence for several minutes before Harry finally turned to look at the man beside him. "At the ministry…the curses you cast weren't really that bad. And most of them just missed me."

"I didn't want to hurt you, but I did have to keep up appearances. I had been sent to bring you and the prophecy to the dark lord. I also had to consider Cissy and Draco."

Harry cursed. "If what you say is true…then I tried to kill my own brother during sixth year. No wonder Snape was so angry with me. He's known all along."

"I wasn't too happy with you when I found out. Or Draco either once I found out what he had been about to do to you."

"Does…does he know?" He wanted to believe…wanted the family that he had been denied for as long as he could remember. But after everything he had been through at the hands of Voldemort and even this man and his son, he was having trouble letting go and accepting what he had been shown and was being told.

Lucius nodded. "Cissy and I told him last summer after I escaped from Azkaban."

The younger man sighed. "I still don't understand why. I mean, if you were so excited about twins, why give…me…away?"

"The most important reason was for your protection. I hated myself for having been taken in by the dark lord and my life belonged to him. For all my money and power, I was a slave. I wanted better than that for my sons. I didn't want him to get his hands on either of you."

Harry pulled his knees up to his chest with a sigh. "Draco took the mark."

"I was in prison and his mother was threatened. He did what he thought he had to do and I don't blame him."

"How could giving me away protect me?"

"You heard the prophecy?" Harry nodded. "The prophecy was made a few months before you were born. The only people who knew that I was spying were Frank Longbottom, James Potter and Severus. It was just pure coincidence that the Longbottoms and the Potters were expecting sons at the same time as Cissy and I were. When Dumbledore found out that the dark lord knew of the prophecy, he did not even consider our sons because he did not know that Cissy and I had thrice defied him as well.

"We were there when James lost his son…the only child that Lily would have been able to have. I know how much having an heir meant to James, because I knew how much it meant to me. We were both the last of our families…until our sons were born. Because of the way that my estate is entailed, Draco would have received everything and you nothing. By giving you to James, we hoped that he could not only protect you, but that he would also give you an inheritance.

"At the time we thought that the dark lord might know of our defiance and consider it the greatest. We thought he would come after us. I knew that there was no way that Cissy could protect you both…we thought that James could protect you and then when the dark lord was defeated we would let the truth be known. Cissy took Draco and went abroad to hide at the same time James and Lily went into hiding…Frank and Alice as well. We truly believed that the dark lord would come after us."

Harry sat there trying to take it all in. Everything Lucius said made sense, yet at the same time it didn't. Just one thing was really bothering him. "After he killed them, why didn't you come for me?"

"At first I was trying to stay out of Azkaban. Once I was pardoned, Severus was the only one who knew I was spying, and no one believed his word either. He did try several times to get Dumbledore to tell him of your whereabouts so that we could simply go claim you, but the stubborn old man wouldn't budge. I considered claiming you once you started school, but the dark lord was trying to come back and I had to pick up my mantle as spy once more. Severus and I did everything we could to protect you."

"It wasn't enough," Harry told him softly.

It was Lucius' turn to sigh deeply. "I know, Harry, and I will never forgive myself for the harm that I have caused you. By trying to protect you from the dark lord, I put you directly into his path and nearly got you killed."

"Do you know how many times he's nearly killed him? He nearly succeeded a few hours ago!"

"Harry, look at me…" Reluctantly, green eyes met grey. "My heart broke when I thought you were dead. It was all I could do to keep my head. Had I gone to you then, I would have been exposed as a spy and they would have gone after Draco as well. Words could not express my joy when Cissy told me that you were still alive."

"Once the battle came back inside…"

"We were looking for both of you," he told the younger man. "You disappeared under that invisibility cloak of yours. Then once the dark lord was defeated, you disappeared again."

Harry grew quiet again, getting lost in thought once more. Did he accept all that this man was telling him? That he had a father, mother and even brother that cared about him. That James and Lily had died to protect him, even though he wasn't their blood.

His true parents had given him up to protect him. They had done what they had thought best at the time, even though it had later proved to be a grave mistake that nearly cost them the life of their son many times…had nearly cost them the lives of both sons.

"I just don't know if I can accept it so easily…sir," Harry told the man.

Sir. It wasn't Father as he would have wished, but at least it was a start. Lucius managed a slight smile. "I understand, Harry. And I want you to take all the time you need to accept it…and hopefully one day forgive us for our mistakes."

Harry nodded. "Maybe one day."

Lucius stood and reached out a hand to help the boy up. Harry stared at it for a moment, before allowing the older man to pull him off the floor. "We will leave it up to you to tell whoever you wish. Or not tell at all."

"Thank you, sir."

Lucius nodded. "You will likely be bombarded the next few days with well wishers and reporters looking for interviews. I know that you lost friends tonight and will want to go to the funerals. If you want to hide from reporters or just escape for a few days, please consider coming to Malfoy Manor. No one will think to look for you there."

Harry could see the wisdom in what he was saying and was truly grateful for the offer. "I just may do that."

"We will have rooms ready and waiting for you."

**Author's Note: This story was suggested and inspired by notwolf. She said that I should try something where Lucius was a good guy. I'm not sure if or when I will continue this, but the idea wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it.**


	2. Chapter 2

Harry sat alone in the Quidditch stadium, his elbows resting on his knees and his head hidden in his hands. After the conversation he had had with Lucius in the headmaster's office, he hadn't been able to face the Great Hall, even though he knew that there were people waiting to speak to him. He needed time to sort out all the thoughts in his head before he could even think about facing them.

Too many people had been lost in the recent, final battle. Too many good people who hadn't deserved to have their lives cut short. Snape. Collin. Fred. Tonks. Remus.

Remus Lupin. The last of the Mauraders. They had all gone down fighting. Harry sighed deeply. Like himself, little Teddy Lupin had lost both of his parents to the monster that Harry had destroyed.

His parents. Everything he had been told since he had joined the wizarding world had been a lie. James and Lily weren't his parents. Yet they had died in order to save him.

Harry had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed that he was no longer alone until someone sat beside him. He looked up to see a familiar blond head. Harry couldn't bring himself to speak so he merely nodded at the other boy.

"Granger was trying to convince Kreacher to find you," Draco told him.

"Kreacher doesn't like her," Harry replied, his voice hoarse.

Draco handed him a glass of pumpkin juice. "From your house elf."

Harry gave the other boy a funny look, but accepted the juice. It felt wonderful on his parched throat.

"I overheard her and once she left your elf alone I told him that I knew where to find you."

Harry merely nodded.

Draco propped his elbows up on the bench behind them and then stretched his legs out, crossing his ankles on the bench in front of them, getting comfortable as if preparing to stay for quite some time.

And stay there they did, in companionable silence for nearly an hour before Harry spoke again. "How did you know I would be here?"

"Lucky quess," Draco responded. "It's where I always came to think. And right now no one is thinking about Quidditch."

"I guess you finally won the Quidditch Cup this year…" Harry said, not wanting to think or talk about anything too deep at the moment.

"We didn't play. Sev decided that there were too many other things to worry about."

"That was…good…of him."

"He's not as awful as you Gryffindors make him out to be."

"I know that now, Mal…Draco, but it was hard to see anything different the last few years. He gave me some memories before he died. I know now that it was all an act."

Draco was silent for a moment before speaking again, unable to keep the emotion from his voice. "We're going to bury him at Malfoy Manor. There is no other family."

"He was your godfather."

"He was your godfather too, Harry." Harry turned to look at the other boy. "He was. Oh, and I know that you thought I got off for all those stunts I pulled against you, but I didn't. Just because he didn't take points or give detentions doesn't mean that I didn't get into trouble."

"Remember our detention together first year?"

Draco chuckled. "Do I ever. Sev lit into me good for leaving you alone out there."

"I thought he was going to chop me up and use me for potions ingredients for sure after I used that curse on you in Myrtle's bathroom during sixth year."

"That was the only threat that he never followed through with. Just be glad he never tanned your backside."

"He didn't…" Harry snorted. "The great Draco Malfoy got…"

"Frequently," Draco said, cutting him off. "Usually for fighting with you." That caused Harry to laugh and Draco smiled. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wizarding photograph, handing it to Harry. "Thought you might want that."

Harry glanced down at the photograph. Remus, Tonks and little Teddy. It was the first time that he had even seen his godson. "How did you…where…"

"Dora was my cousin. We may not have been close, but we were still family. I found that near where he fell."

"Thanks, Draco," he said. "Teddy is my godson…"

"Can you imagine the brooms they'll have created by the time he starts school?"

"They'll probably put my old Firebolt to shame."

Draco laughed. "I was very jealous when you got that thing. If you ever come out to the Manor, I'd like to give it a try."

Harry sighed. "I lost it when those Death Eaters tried to kill me as I was fleeing my aunt's house just before my birthday."

"That's too bad. That Firebolt was beautiful."

"It was," Harry agreed. "I guess Snape never got to buy me a broom, did he?"

"He's the one who bought the Nimbus. He was furious with McGonagall for putting you on the team, but wanted you to have a good broom."

"How do you know all this, Draco? Your father said he didn't tell you until last summer."

"Sev and I talked a lot this past year. We didn't have you to torment, so what else were we supposed to do." He laughed when Harry gave him a playful shove.

Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the Hawthorn wand. "I think this belongs to you…"

Draco took the wand, his fingers almost caressing the wood. "Was all that stuff you said about the Elder Wand true? That I was its master and didn't even know it?"

"Yeah. But even I didn't realize it until I started dueling with Voldemort." He stood and pulled his invisibility cloak from his pocket. "Come on. Let's sneak into the kitchen and get some food."

"Still hiding?"

"Hey, I can't even remember the last time I ate. If I have to face the masses, I at least want to do it on a full stomach."

"Well get under that thing already. I'm starving too."

Grinning, Harry flung the cloak around his shoulders and together they walked back toward the castle.

--

**AN: I swear this story just won't leave me alone. Now that I have this finished, maybe I can write the next chapter of Frater Gemini.**


	3. Chapter 3

Harry and Draco stepped into the Hogwarts kitchen and a moment after Harry took off his invisibility cloak, a thin pair of arms wrapped around his knee. Harry reached down and patted the old house elf's head. "I'm fine, Kreacher."

"Kreacher is very happy that his Master is alive," the elf said, looking up at him.

When Kreacher let go of his leg, Harry knelt down to the elf's height. "You did the right thing to come here. And thank you for leading the elves into battle to help us."

Kreacher gave him a little bow.

"I want you to meet someone," Harry said, pointing to Draco.

"Kreacher already knows Master Draco but has not been seeing him for a long time."

_Of course_, Harry thought. _Draco is a Black, so he would have met Kreacher at some point._

Draco took a cue from Harry and knelt down in front of the elf. "It has been a long time, Kreacher."

"Kreacher," Harry spoke, getting the elf's attention. "Master Draco is my brother and I want you to obey him the same as you obey me."

"Yes, Master Harry," the elf replied.

Draco stood and rubbed his hands together. "Wonderful. Kreacher, Master Harry and I have not eaten in quite some time. How about some food and some firewhiskey…"

Harry rolled his eyes. "No firewhiskey, Kreacher. Just butterbeer." Kreacher bowed and hurried to get them food as the two took a seat at one of the tables.

"Spoilsport."

"What would your father say if we both showed up in the Great Hall drunk at a time like this?"

Draco winced slightly. "Good point. Alright, so we'll get drunk tonight."

"We?"

"You are coming to the Manor, right?"

"Look…no offense, but my memories of your house aren't exactly pleasant. I had to listen to Bellatrix torture one of my best friends and then she tried to kill me."

Draco nodded as Kreacher placed food on the table in front of them. "I guess I can understand that. Where will you go?"

"Grimmauld, probably. At least for a couple days," Harry said, helping himself to the food. "I never really thought to look and see if Mum and…if James and Lily left a house somewhere."

"It's not like you could have found out while you were on the run. I can use some of Father's connections to see what happened to the Potter Estate."

"Estate?"

"Sure. The Potters were in the upper middle class of wizarding society. I'm sure there is still at least one house out there somewhere." Draco turned to Kreacher, who was fussing over some cuts and bruises on Harry's arms. "Kreacher, is Grimmauld Place habitable?"

"Kreacher can clean it up, Master Draco. Do the Masters wish me to do so?" The little elf asked.

Harry nodded. "Yes, Kreacher. I'm not sure how much time I will be spending there the next few days, so just fix up Sirius' old room for me. You can clean the others as you get time."

"I will, Master Harry. Which room does Master Harry wish Kreacher to prepare for Master Draco?"

"I don't need a room, Kreacher," Draco told the elf.

"Master Draco be Master Harry's brother and will be needing a room when he comes to visit his brother."

"That's fine," Harry said before Draco could protest again. "Just pick a room for him, Kreacher."

"Yes, Master Harry," the elf said, bowing and then disappearing with a loud pop.

"I think your house elf is crazy," Draco told his brother.

Harry rolled his eyes and went back to his food. "So explain to me why pureblood families only have one, or sometimes two, children. Well, all purebloods except the Weasleys."

Draco laughed. "When two purebloods get married it is usually an arranged marriage. Keeping the money and land and power in the proper hands and all that. At least that's the way it works in the wealthy families. And in most of those cases, everything is entailed to the oldest son, so most of the wealthy pureblood families stop trying for kids after they get a son. The Weasleys didn't have to worry about that because there was no money to entail. And they aren't the only large pureblood family."

"That's all very…old fashioned. Alright, enlighten me. What is the other large pureblood family?"

The Slytherin smirked. "The Malfoys."

Harry looked over at his brother in confusion. "Until today, I thought there was only one of you. You're telling me that we have more siblings?"

"My dear brother, you have two younger sisters and a younger brother, who have all been hidden away for their own safety. Which is a good thing considering our standing with that monster the last two years."

"I have got to be dreaming. I'm going to wake up and find this all a dream, right?"

Draco shook his head. "It's all very real. Would you like me to tell you about them? I'm sure Father plans to introduce you to them soon."

Harry ran his fingers through his hair and then rubbed his scar absently. "Alright…tell me about my…family." This could not be happening. In just a couple hours everything he had thought he had known about his family had changed: James and Lily were not his parents, Lucius and Narcissa were, he not only had a twin brother but younger siblings as well. Something must have happened when he defeated Voldemort. That had to be it. He had been tossed into some kind of alternate universe.

"Well, the oldest is Aurora and she'll be starting school here in the fall, thanks to your winning the battle last night. She reminds me a lot of Granger, actually. Her nose is always in a book.

"Reg…is eight and full of mischief. Sometimes, it seems that trouble just seems to find him…about like it does with you. Father has a hard time keeping him in line.

"The baby is Lily…Mother named her after Lily Potter. She's six and a little doll. I know that there are some rumors going around that I'm part veela, but if any of us are part veela, it's that little angel. I've been hopelessly in love since the moment I first saw her," he said with a laugh.

Harry couldn't help but smile. "I'm sure Pansy doesn't appreciate you having another woman."

"Pansy and I were never seriously together," Draco told him. "It was all an act. She's been head over heels for some poor pureblood from Durmstrang since fourth year, but her parents wanted her to marry money. I just wanted Mother off my case."

"I never much cared for Pansy anyway…"

"Thank you for your approval, brother mine."

The two stared at each other a moment before laughing. After everything that had happened between them the last seven years, Harry actually found himself enjoying the Slytherin's company. How different would things have been if Harry had accepted the blonde's offer of friendship on the train to Hogwarts for their first year? That was something that he would need to spend some time thinking about.


	4. Chapter 4

Harry sighed deeply as they finished off their food. He felt a lot better now that he had eaten. "I suppose I should stop hiding and go back to the Great Hall now. Ron and Hermione will probably be worrying about me…and I'd like to see the Weasleys…"

"Father and Mother know that I am with you," Draco told his brother, wiping his mouth with his napkin and placing it on the table. "I know that Mother will be happy to see you again…she's been really worried."

"No offense or anything, but I can't call them that, Draco."

"Well, you have spent nearly eighteen years thinking that James and Lily were your parents," the blond replied, dismissing the thought with the wave of a hand.

"So when is your…our birthday?"

"Your birthday is the thirty-first of July, mine is the fifth of June. Uncle Sev gave James some de-aging potion to give you so that your birthday would match the birthday of the Potter baby. I was given an aging potion."

"How does that work exactly?"

"It's quite simple really. When a witch or wizard takes an aging or de-aging potion, their birth certificate on file with the Ministry changes to reflect the new age."

"What about Fred and George during the Tri-Wizard Tournament? They took an aging potion to enter."

"Either they didn't brew it properly or they didn't take enough."

"I'm going to go with they didn't take enough. Fred and George…well…" Harry looked over at the other boy and shook his head. "You know, we've spent the last seven years hating each other. We shouldn't be getting along at all right now. We should be dueling or something."

Draco smirked. "Then you shouldn't have returned my wand."

"I had no need of it now that I have mine back. Besides, your wand didn't work as well for me."

"You used it to defeat the Elder Wand."

"Only because the Elder Wand couldn't be used against me…look, I'm going to need some time to really work through all this…and like I said, we've hated each other for seven years."

"And we can go back to hating each other again later. But…well…" Draco sighed deeply. "The only people who knew that Father was helping the Order are either dead or don't even know their own names. Dumbledore never would acknowledge Father's wanting to switch sides like he did with Severus. So Father passed information to Sev to pass to Dumbledore and the Order. I think Dumbledore didn't believe Father at all. But Father is going to go to trial again for being a Death Eater and the Imperious story isn't going to work again. With no one to verify his story…Harry…I'm scared that he's going to get Kissed. I'm not ready to be head of house."

Harry looked into Draco's eyes and could tell that he was scared. Really and truly scared. "What about you, Draco? You have the Mark too, don't you?"

Draco groaned loudly and put his head in his hands. "I haven't even thought about that. I…I don't think I would get Kissed, but I don't want to go to Azkaban either."

"I'll talk to Kingsley Shacklebolt. I…I had visions of you this last year and I saw what Voldemort forced you to do. I will do what I can for you and Lucius…"

"And if you can't do anything?"

"Then I will take care of Narcissa and the others. Besides, I doubt that Kingsley will allow the dementors to take control of Azkaban again, so it wouldn't be as bad as when Lucius was in there."

"I feel bad for asking you to do this…"

Harry cut him off. "Snape saved my life several times. He told me to trust Lucius…and even though I probably shouldn't, I do. I can't really explain why, but I do. I'll do what I can to help him and you." He stood. "Come on, let's head back upstairs."

--

Together they walked into the Great Hall and almost immediately, Lucius and Narcissa rose from where they were seated and moved over to them. Narcissa reached out and pulled Harry into a warm embrace.

Harry hesitated a moment before returning the hug. Unlike Lucius and Draco, this woman had never done anything to harm him. In fact, she had helped him out in the Forest when Voldemort thought that he had killed him. He blinked back tears as he thought of his mother…both of them: the one who had given him away in an effort to save him and the one who had died to save him. He couldn't begin to imagine all that Narcissa had gone through all these years wondering and worrying about him. It must have been hard for her to give up one of her children in an effort to keep him safe, and then find out that her efforts weren't entirely successful.

"Thank you," he whispered, stepping away from her. "I will do what I can to keep them out of Azkaban." He then turned to Lucius. "I'd like to come to Snape's funeral and to meet the rest of the family, but I don't think I could move into the manor. My memories there are not pleasant ones."

"We understand," Lucius said, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. "Besides, you are of age and you have a house of your own. I think it might be best if we close the manor for a while and use one of our other properties. You are our son and you will always be welcome in any of our homes."

"I appreciate it, sir. I…I should go speak to the Weasleys now…and then go see Mrs. Tonks and let her know what happened. Remus and Tonks were my friends and Teddy is my godson…"

Narcissa took his hand. "I'll go with you, Harry. Andromeda is my sister and I've stayed away far too long."

Harry squeezed her hand. "I've been there once, but I don't really know where her house is."

"I'll take you side-along then. Go speak to your friends and then come find me when you are ready."

He kissed her cheek and then walked over to where the Weasley family was gathered.

**AN: I shamelessly "borrowed" the idea of the aging potion changing the birth certificate from aspeninthesunlight.**


	5. Chapter 5

The Weasleys could not see him when Harry walked over to them. He rested her hand on Ginny's shoulder and she instinctively leaned back against him. Harry wrapped his arms around her. It felt right to hold her close again. "Gin…" he whispered. "I'm so sorry…"

She shook her head against his shoulder. "He died laughing, Harry. Its how he would have wanted to go."

"I know," he replied, kissing the side of her head.

Harry held Ginny for several minutes as he looked at each member of the family that had claimed him for their own many years before. Ron had his face buried in Hermione's bushy hair as he held her close. Harry knew that his old friend was just barely keeping from crying. George…looked lost without his twin. Charlie was hovering near George as if expecting him to break down at any moment. Fleur was standing behind Bill with her arms wrapped around him. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat holding each other while Percy paced nervously nearby, as if he felt out of place. It felt right to be here with them, even lost in silence as they mourned their missing son and brother.

--

Across the room Lucius, Narcissa and Draco watched them. "Well, Lucius, I'd say that what Draco told us is true. Harry loves the Weasley girl."

"They've taken care of our son for many years, Cissy," Lucius replied. "And they are an old pureblood family…distant relations of yours even. I think it would be alright for Harry to marry the girl."

"I think you'd only drive him away if you tried to stop him," Draco told his father.

As they watched, Harry left Ginny and knelt in front of Molly Weasley. He took her hands and said something that they could not her. She responded by pulling him into a tight hug.

Narcissa looked up at Lucius. "Severus was right. Our son has grown into quite a young man."

--

"How are you feeling, Harry?" Narcissa asked later as they walked toward Hogsmeade so that they could Apparate to the Andromeda Tonks' house.

"I'm fine," he answered quietly.

She stopped and looked over at him. "You fought very hard for a long time…and then you've spent the last several hours speaking to the families that were here and writing letters to those that weren't. You look exhausted, dear."

He sighed. "I guess maybe I am…a little. I just…I felt like I had to talk to them, Mrs. Malfoy."

"Harry…I'd like you to call me Mother but if you aren't comfortable with that, then call me Narcissa."

"Yes, ma'am."

She gently took his face in both hands. "Promise me that after we talk to Andromeda that you will go to Grimmauld Place and go to sleep. You need rest, Harry, or you'll make yourself sick."

"I will…Narcissa."

Narcissa pulled his head down and kissed his brow. The gesture nearly brought tears to his eyes, but he figured that it was just because of how exhausted he was. "Are you ready to Apparate?" she asked him.

Harry nodded and moments later they were walking up to Andromeda Tonks' door.

"Cissy!' Andromeda exclaimed upon seeing her baby sister. She saw Harry when she pulled the woman into a hug. "Hallo Harry. Have you seen Remus and 'Dora?" she asked him. She looked back and forth between the two. "What happened to them?"

Narcissa held her sister's arm. "We should go inside and sit down, Andy."

"Oh Merlin…" the older woman said, nearly collapsing.

Harry took her other arm and helped lead her inside to the sofa, where he sat next to her. "I'm very sorry, Mrs. Tonks." He took her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze. "They both fought very hard and they didn't go down easy. I…I think it's almost better that they went together. It would have killed Remus to try and live without her…"

In another room a baby began to cry. Narcissa sat on the other side of her sister. "Harry…why don't you go take care of your godson…"

Unsure what else he could say to Andromeda, he headed toward the back of the house to find Teddy. When he found the infant, the baby's hair was the same red color that Tonks' hair would turn when she got angry. He awkwardly lifted Teddy into his arms and sat down in the rocking chair. "Hey there, little man." Gently, he rubbed the baby's cheek with the back of a finger and Teddy began to settle. "Like that do you…I'm Harry, your godfather, and I'm gonna take good care of you, Teddy. When you are old enough I'll buy you your first broom and teach you to fly…" Harry chuckled softly. "I guess I'm going to have to ask Draco what other responsibilities I have as your godfather."

He gently lifted the baby up to his shoulder, kissing the soft hair. "I lost my parents when I was about your age, Teddy. But I promise you this…you won't ever have to go through what I did. Your grandmother loves you very much and will take care of you. And I'll be here too. I didn't even know I had a godfather until I was thirteen and I didn't get much time with him once I did find him…" Harry trailed off. Sirius hadn't really been his godfather…Severus Snape had been his godfather and had even gotten Harry his first broom, though the act was never acknowledged.

"Oh, Teddy, I'm so confused. I wish your dad was here so that I could talk to him," Harry sighed. "I could always talk to Remus…it was like he understood. He helped me a lot, you know, during my third year." He gently leaned his head against Teddy's, breathing in that clean, baby scent.

--

When Narcissa and Andromeda came into the room half an hour later, they found both Harry and Teddy asleep, Teddy snuggled into his godfather's protective grasp. "I don't know if we did the right thing by telling him, Andy," Narcissa whispered. "It's not that we didn't want to claim him…we've always wanted him. But I'm worried about him. Adding this news to everything else that has happened to him in the last few days…he's exhausted and I'm not sure how well he understands right now…"

Andromeda hugged her younger sister. "Remus told me that Harry's greatest strength is the power to love. It was love that prompted you and Lucius to give him to James and Lily Potter. It was there love for him that protected him from You-Know-Who…it has been love protecting him all these years. Harry has a big heart, dear sister, don't underestimate it. Give him some time and you'll have your son back."


	6. Chapter 6

Harry stirred and stretched, without opening his eyes. He felt well rested, but didn't really want to get up just yet. There were too many things to face that he just wasn't ready to deal with. Yes, sleep was good.

"Mummy! Mummy! He's awake!" He heard a pixie-like voice call out followed by someone else laughing.

He sat up and opened his eyes and found himself in Sirius' old room at Grimmauld Place . He could see Draco sitting in a chair across the room.

"She's been waiting for you to wake up for hours," the blond told him.

Harry fumbled for his glasses and put them on. "How did I get here? Last thing I remember was rocking Teddy..."

"You fell asleep. Mother floo-called Father and I. You were sleeping so hard that you didn't even notice us moving you."

"How long have I been out?"

Draco pulled out his pocketwatch. "About twenty-four hours."

Harry groaned. "I didn't mean to sleep that long."

"You needed it, dear," Narcissa said, coming into the room with a tiny blond girl on her hip. Harry didn't need to be told who the girl was...Draco's description of her had been perfect. She was enchanting.

Lily wiggled to be put down and as soon as she was on her feet, she flew over to Draco and grabbed the book he was holding. She climbed up onto Harry's bed and shoved the book into his hands. "Read to me," she demanded.

Draco laughed again. "The princess has spoken, Harry. You have no choice but to obey."

Narcissa shook her head. "Liliana Grace Malfoy, you leave your brother alone until after he's had a chance to wake up and eat something."

The little girl looked up at her mother. "But Harry wants to read to me, don't you Harry?"

Harry couldn't resist her charm. "Let me eat something real quick and then I'll read to you all you  
want."

"That's a dangerous thing to say, brother," Draco told him.

Lily huffed dramatically. "Alright...but hurry up. I want to see if you read better than Draco," she told him.

Draco walked over and tickled her lightly. "I thought I was the best reader ever."

She shook her head. "Uncle Sev is...but you are next."

"Thank you, Princess Liliana," Draco told her, his grey eyes filling with sadness. Harry understood then that they hadn't yet told the girl of Snape's death.

Harry started to stand, but Narcissa pushed him right back down. "Kreacher is bringing you a try of food. I don't want you getting out of that bed until morning," she said, fussing over him and straightening his blankets.

"I'm not sick, Narcissa," he protested as Lily crawled over and cuddled up beside him.

Narcissa put her hands on her hips and gave him a look. "You are exhausted and if you don't want me to summon a Healer, then you will do as I say."

"I'll go let the others know he's awake," Draco said, kissing his mother's cheek and leaving the  
room as Kreacher brought in a tray of food.

"Narcissa…I'm fine. Really," Harry continued to protest as Narcissa placed the tray of on his lap. "You don't need to bother. I can take care of myself."

"That's exactly the problem, Harry," she told him. "You've had to take care of yourself for far too long, so let me mother you a bit."

Lucius entered the room with a squirming boy over his shoulder. "Best to listen to her, son, before she decides that you can't even feed yourself." A girl, who looked about old enough to start a Hogwarts peeked around him, something about her eyes reminded him of Sirius.

Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had wished for a family for years, but the family he suddenly found himself a part of was the last family that he ever wanted to be a part  
of. "Would you all please go away and leave me alone," he growled quietly.

Draco stepped into the room. "Come on, princess. I need to send a letter and I'll let you help me write it," he said, picking up Lily as the others quietly left Harry alone.

--

Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger walked slowly through the clearing near the Burrow were the Weasleys had played Quidditch for years. "I'm worried about Harry," Ginny told her friend softly. "He looked so tired the last I saw him. I wanted to stay at Hogwarts with him, but I Mum needed me. She's kept us all close since we got back."

"I hope he's not hiding somewhere. That's the last thing he needs," Hermione replied.

Ginny sighed. "Something was bothering him, 'Mione. And it wasn't just the battle. It was something deeper than that."

"He talked to the Malfoys a couple times before we left. Maybe that has something to do with it."

"Maybe. If we haven't heard from him by lunchtime tomorrow I'm going to go to Grimmauld," Ginny said. "I have a feeling he's there."

They both fell silent as an owl flew toward them and landed lightly on Ginny's shoulder, a small scroll tied to its leg. Ginny took the scroll and opened it. Seven words were carefully penned in a childish scrawl.

_Harry needs you. Come to Grimmauld. Lily._

"Ginny…" Hermione whispered. "It might be a trick."

Ginny looked over the note again. "I know, but Harry does need me, 'Mione. I can…I can feel it. It's not something that I can really explain."

"If you're sure…"

"I am. I'll even take Bill or Charlie with me, alright?"

Hermione nodded. "Good. At least they can Apparate you out of there if something's wrong."

Ginny barely managed to keep from rolling her eyes and she headed back to the house in search of one of her brothers. She found Charlie de-gnoming the garden for lack of anything better to do. She leaned against the fence. "Charlie, can you take me to Grimmauld?" she asked.

"Why, Gin?" he questioned, drop-kicking another gnome over the fence.

"I need to see Harry. He's alone and I'm not sure that's a good idea. I just want to talk to him."

"Tonight?"

She nodded, giving him a pouting look that had never failed to get her what she wanted. "Please?"

Charlie sighed and shook his head. "I spoil you."

Ginny kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Charlie!"

Laughing for the first time since before the Battle, he pulled her into his arms and apparated them to the park across from Grimmauld Place and together they entered the building, stopping short at the sight of a familiar blond head. "Malfoy! What are you doing in Harry's house?!" she hissed, drawing her wand. The portrait in the hall woke up and began screaming loudly.


	7. Chapter 7

"Malfoy! What are you doing in Harry's house?!" she hissed, drawing her wand. The portrait in the hall woke up and began screaming loudly.

Ignoring the screaming portrait, Draco drew his wand with his left hand and placed it sideways on the open palm of his right hand, bowing slightly and extending it to her.

Charlie flicked his wand, closing the curtain covering the portrait as Ginny snatched Draco's wand in her own left hand and started to hex him. Charlie's hand closed over hers. "Gin…look…" he said, nodding toward Draco.

A bit of lace and a small pair of feet peeked out from under Draco's robes, as if another person was in them as well. Draco lifted his arm, brushing aside his robes to show a petite, blond girl clinging to his leg. "Mr. Weasley, Miss Weasley, I'd like to introduce you to Miss Liliana Malfoy," he said formally, lifting his nightgown clad sister into his arms. Lily wrapped her legs around his waist and rested her head on her brother's shoulder, looking at the two visitors with big grey eyes.

"Are you the girl that Harry loves?" Lily asked Ginny.

Ginny had opened and closed her mouth a few times at the sight of Draco holding the girl, but stopped when she spoke. "Yes," she managed to whisper. "Where is he?"

"Upstairs," Lily answered, her head still resting on her brother's shoulder. "He said that he'd read to me and then yelled for us to get out. Draco said that you could make Harry feel better…"

"Which room?" Ginny asked Draco with a sigh.

"Sirius' old room," he replied. "It's only the four of us and Harry in the house. Mother and Father thought it best to leave for the night, but Lily insisted on staying with me."

Ginny nodded and brushed past him, heading up the stairs.

"Leave the door open, Gin," Charlie called after her.

She stopped and looked back at him. "You sound like Mum!"

"Ron told me about the last time you and Harry were alone together. Leave the door open or I can come up there with you."

"Brothers!" she spat, before continuing up the stairs to find Harry. She knocked softly on the door to the room that had once belonged to Sirius.

"Go away!" Harry called from inside.

She sighed softly. "Harry…it's me. Can I come in? Please."

There was a moment of silence before Harry responded, opening the door and pulling Ginny into his arms. "I don't know how you knew to come, but I'm glad you did…" he whispered.

Ginny led him into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. "Lily sent me a note."

"Lily sent…" Harry sat beside her and raked his fingers through his hair. "Ginny there is something I need to tell you…I'm not even sure if I really believe it myself, but it does make sense. But then it doesn't. I only found out after the Battle …"

Ginny gently took his hands in hers. "Tell me, Harry," she said softly.

Harry sighed deeply and looked down at their hands. "When…when I talked to Snape in the Shrieking Shack, just before he died…he told me to talk to Lucius Malfoy when it was all over. And to trust Lucius the way that I had never trusted him. Dumbledore trusted Snape and I should have too. If I had trusted him then maybe Sirius wouldn't be…so after it was all over, I talked to Lucius just like Snape wanted. Lucius showed me some memories…"

"Memories of what?" she prompted gently.

It took him a moment before he could answer. "Memories of my…parents giving me to James Potter just moments after his son died the same day he was born. Of my…parents trying to protect me and failing. Of my…father telling my…twin to do whatever it took to keep me close, by either becoming my friend or making trouble for me. Though he wasn't told that I was his twin until last summer. Merlin, Gin, it's all so ridiculous, but I have this ghastly feeling that it's all true. I've dreamed of having a family, so many times, but never with them…"

Not trusting herself to speak just yet, Ginny pulled Harry into a hug, letting him rest his head against her shoulder as she ran her fingers through his hair. It was longer than he normally wore it, thanks to his months on the run, but she liked it this way.

"I always thought that I'd be a part of your family, not theirs. And now…I don't want to be torn between two families. I don't want to be forced to choose…"

It was all so confusing, Ginny thought. The Malfoys actually giving a son, to James and Lily Potter no less, just didn't make sense. Unless they thought they were protecting that son. That part made sense. It was no wonder that Harry was so upset and confused. To be told that everything you had ever known wasn't true…poor Harry. Ginny kissed the top of his head.

The Weasleys had unofficially claimed Harry all those years ago when Ron and the twins had used the flying car to rescue him. They had even sat with the other families during the third task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. If Dumbledore would have allowed it, they would have made Harry a permanent part of the family. Though Ginny supposed now that it was a good thing that it had never happened, because she intended to marry him one day. She knew that Harry had felt the same way…at least before he had been forced to go on the run. Perhaps this was how Harry was intended to become part of the Weasley family all along.

She still wasn't too sure about the Malfoys being Harry's true family, but they obviously cared about him. According to Draco they had been staying here with him, and they hadn't left him truly alone even though he had told them to leave. Had that been concern she had seen in Draco's eyes? The little girl was obviously worried about Harry as well.

"You won't have to choose, Harry," she whispered. "We'll be with you no matter what happens or who your family is. We love you for who you are, not because of your name or your family or what you've done."

Harry breathed a huge sigh of relief, still clinging to her. "I love you, Gin. So much."

"I know, Harry. I love you too."


	8. Chapter 8

Ginny sat with Harry until he feel asleep again and then went back downstairs to the drawing room where her brother was sitting with the two Malfoys. "He's sleeping," she said, sitting on the arm of the chair her brother was occupying.

Charlie put his arm around her, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "Are you ready to go?" he asked her.

"In just a minute," she replied. She looked over at Draco. "I'm still not sure about this whole thing, but I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt because I think this is what Harry needs. But if your family hurts him, you'll have to face the wrath of the whole Weasley clan as well as Dumbledore's Army, is that understood?"

He nodded. "I do understand, Miss Weasley. But my family is not what it has always seemed," he said, glancing down at Lily who was curled up in his arms asleep, looking like a little angel. "We have no intention of hurting him. I have watched the suffering of my parents for years, thinking that it was because of the child that the whole wizarding world was dead. I know now that it was because they could not claim the son that they never stopped loving and, once we started school, the son they were powerless to protect and on occasion were forced to hurt.

"I wish that you could have seen my mother the last two days, Miss Weasley. She's been the happiest I've ever seen her. My father too. Their family is together under the same roof for the first time ever...can you imagine what that must be like for them? My father supplied the Order with information for years, but the only people who can prove that are dead. He and I will most likely end up in Azkaban. They are not likely to do anything to ruin the few days of happiness that we have left together."

"I'm surprised that you haven't been arrested already," Charlie said. "That's a little surprising."

"We're all well aware that it is only a matter of time. Father and I are hoping they will hold off long enough for us to bury Severus properly. He and Father were best friends, almost like brothers, and we are the only family he had left."

"How much time do you need?"

"The funeral is scheduled for the day after tomorrow," Draco replied.

"I'll get Percy to lose the paperwork on the arrest long enough for you to bury him."

Draco nodded, shifting Lily in his arms. "Thank you, Weasley. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome."

"Let us know the time and place," Ginny told Draco. "The Weasleys will be there. We all know what he did for Harry over the years and we'd like to be there to honor him."

"Thank you," he said again. "When is the funeral for your brother?"

"Tomorrow evening. Will…will you let Harry know?"

"I will, Miss Weasley. And I will accompany him."

--

The next day Harry attended not one, but three funerals. Colin Creevey's was in the morning and Harry attended it alone. In the afternoon, the whole family attended the double funeral for Remus and Tonks. He had held Teddy the entire time. There had been something comforting about the tiny body that was snuggled into his arms. After that, he and Draco had gone to the Burrow for Fred's funeral. Harry had been surprised that Draco wanted to go. In fact, the blond had insisted on going with him.

They had just Flooed back into Grimmauld and Harry was ready to get out of the formal robes that Narcissa had insisted on buying for him. She had bought him almost a complete new wardrobe, mostly everyday robes as all his other robes were left over from school. All her fussing was both nice and irritating at the same time. When Harry had grumbled about the fussing while trying on the dress robes that morning, Draco had merely laughed at him and said that Narcissa had nearly eighteen years of mothering to catch up on. Harry had promptly sent a strong Stinging Hex his way.

Harry gave Lily the hug and kiss that she demanded before heading up to his room to change. He was exhausted and wanted to sleep, but knew that Narcissa would pitch a fit if he didn't eat. And he was simply too tired to deal with her fit tonight. It was best for him to just come back downstairs for dinner.

As he came back down the stairs he heard the doorbell ring, followed by screaming from that damn portrait in the hall. They were going to have to find a way to get rid of that thing. Soon! When he stepped onto the man floor, he saw Lucius leave the drawing room and walk toward the door, silencing the portrait with a wave of his wand. The man opened the door and on the stoop stood…Snape?! It couldn't be! He was…he was dead!

The two men exchanged a few softly spoken words that Harry couldn't hear and then Lucius pulled the Potions Master into a brotherly embrace. After a moment the two men stepped apart and Lucius led Snape into the drawing room where the rest of the family was gathered, neither one seeing Harry lurking in the shadows in the hallway.

Feeling like he was intruding on a family moment, Harry stepped closer to the open door, watching the family greet the man they had thought was dead. The man they had planned to bury tomorrow. Narcissa met him first with a hug of her own and quick kiss on the cheek. She rested her hand on his cheek for a moment before stepping away so that her children could greet him.

Draco stepped forward next and Snape gave him a paternal embrace, which for some reason that he couldn't explain made Harry very jealous. While the younger three looked at Snape as a favorite uncle, he knew that Draco considered the man a second father, almost like Harry had considered Sirius during those brief times they had spent together. Reg received an affectionate tussle of his blond curls and then climbed onto the man's back with practiced ease.

Lily threw herself into the man's arms and he lifted her onto his hip, covering her little face with kisses while she giggled happily. Aurora set her book aside and went to claim her hug from the man as well, wrapping her arms around his waist. It was quite an odd sight to see the stern Potions Master with three children clinging to him.

"Where is Harry?" Snape asked them.

It was Draco who answered. "He's here somewhere. We just got home."

Snape glanced toward the door and his eyes met Harry's. He handed Lily to Draco and lowered Reg to the floor, before walking toward him. Harry had taken a few steps forward before he even realized that he had been moving. The two stood staring at each other for a moment before Snape reached out and took Harry by the shoulders. Harry found himself pulled into the same paternal embrace that Draco had just received and to his embarrassment, he burst into tears.


	9. Chapter 9

Snape glanced toward the door and his eyes met Harry's. He handed Lily to Draco and lowered Reg to the floor, before walking toward him. Harry had taken a few steps forward before he even realized that he had been moving. The two stood staring at each other for a moment before Snape reached out and took Harry by the shoulders. Harry found himself pulled into the same paternal embrace that Draco had just received and to his embarrassment, he burst into tears.

With one arm around the boy, he snaked long fingers gently through the boy's hair, pressing his head against his shoulder as the boy's gut-wrenching sobs continued. Severus felt a hand squeeze his free shoulder gently as the rest of the family exited the room, leaving the two alone. Narcissa returned a moment later, her own eyes full of tears as she set two potions on a small table and left them alone again. Severus recognized them both instantly: Calming Draft and Dreamless Sleep…Harry would probably need both tonight.

Severus stood there in silence, holding Harry close as the boy wept. In those brief moments before the tears had started, he had used a light Legilimens touch to read the boy, not that he had really needed to. Those green eyes had always shown Harry's emotions to anyone who looked closely enough. The boy had not yet allowed himself to start grieving those he had lost at the Battle, but he was also utterly confused about the news that Lucius had given him. The tears he was now shedding would go a long way toward healing the boy's wounded spirit.

The boy's knees buckled and Severus caught him easily. Harry was far too light for a boy his age. Severus set him on the sofa and sat beside him, pulling the boy back against his chest, both arms wrapped around him as Harry continued to sob. He let him weep for a few more minutes before using a wandless, non-verbal _Accio_ to summon the bottle of Calming Draft. He removed the stopper and held it to Harry's lips. "Drink, child…"

Harry drank the potion and then collapsed against the Potions Master limply. "You died," he whispered after several minutes.

"I appeared to die, Harry."

The boy's head snapped up at the use of his first name, nearly hitting the Potions Master in the nose. "You…you just…called me Harry…"

Severus stood and moved to sit facing Harry. "From what you saw of my memories and Lucius', I am sure you can see that the way I treated you was a farce. An act I was forced to play in order to keep you safe. I hope that you will also remember the times that I helped keep you safe."

Harry nodded, wrapping his arms around himself. He was cold now that the man had moved away from him.

Severus summoned a blanket and wrapped it around the boy's shoulders. "Harry…I know that you loved Sirius and you consider him to be your godfather…but I hope that you will come to at least consider me as a friend."

Harry nodded once more, snuggling into the thick flannel blanket that Severus had given him. "What…what happened to you? I thought you were dead…you died in my arms…"

"I appeared to die," Severus told him again. "Many years ago, before you defeated him the first time, the Dark Lord ordered me to create a potion that would speed the progression of snake venom, specifically that of Nagini. It was easy enough to create, but it was at this time that I began spying for Dumbledore and I told the Dark Lord that I was having trouble working out the correct formulation. You defeated him before I gave him the potion.

"When I felt the Mark returning during the Tri-Wizard Tournament, I developed a new potion. This one would not speed the progression of the venom, but would cause the victim to fall into a death-like sleep…long enough for Lucius or myself to secret them away somewhere safe. At first it didn't work, but I began making changes and refining it until it worked…just not the way that I had intended. With Narcissa's help, I finally figured out that the potion needed to be taken before the bite.

It didn't do much good for most of the victims of the Dark Lord, but Lucius and I, and later Draco, took it each time we were summoned before the Dark Lord…"

"What about Arthur Weasley?" Harry interrupted. "He was bitten by Nagini…"

"We did not suspect that the snake would be there, so I had not supplied the potion to the Order. However, the Order members that went to retrieve him were given a bottle of anti-venom that I had brewed. There is a closet here that I have kept stocked with all essential medical potions and any others that I thought the Order might need. Had we suspected that the Dark Lord would send his snake to the Ministry, I would have made sure that the Order had the potion. After the incident with Arthur, I did supply them with the potion, and those who stood guard took it before each shift.

"The potion had no effect whatsoever, unless the drinker was later bitten by a snake. It was not addictive, and with no side effects we were free to take it as often as we needed to. The bottle I took that day was the last bottle I had. I hadn't been able to brew any more in some months."

"It's brilliant, sir," Harry said around a yawn.

Severus chuckled. "I'm sure it would have been much better if I had had Lily's help. She helped me with the Wolfsbane Potion that the were…that Remus took each month."

"Why didn't you ever tell her that you loved her?" He never would have dared ask that question if not for the Calming Draft and the extreme exhaustion he now felt after his tears.

"She eventually forgave me for calling her a mudblood, but the trust we once had was gone. By the time that happened I had taken the Dark Mark. I childishly took the Mark thinking that it would get James and Sirius to leave me alone…and part of me wanted the power associated with the Mark. Albus had ignored my pleas for help for many years and I thought it was the best thing that I could do. And then she married James. It wasn't until after I had given the Dark Lord that damn prophecy that I realized exactly what I had done.

"I went to Albus one more time and begged his protection…not only for myself, but for Lucius as well. He accepted me, but refused to believe that Lucius had had a change of heart. Lucius was there when I told the Dark Lord of the prophecy, and at that point had already defied him once, and was planning to defy him a second time. It was only after you were born that he defied the Dark Lord the third time.

"When Albus had me vow to protect you it was not only for Lily's sake that I did so. He did not know that you were truly the son of Lucius and Narcissa and my godson…and I did not see any need to tell him, not after his refusal to help Lucius. Again, it seemed like the best idea at the time."

Severus looked over at Harry and realized that the boy had fallen asleep. He hadn't realized that he had been prattling on for so long. He summoned the Dreamless Sleep and spelled it into the boy's stomach. Standing, he carefully lifted his godson into his arms and carried him upstairs to Sirius' old room, putting him into the bed. He had a fairly good feeling that the boy had chosen that room for his own. "Sleep well, phoenix," he whispered as he tucked the blanket around the boy's shoulders.


	10. Chapter 10

When Harry woke the next morning he felt better, physically, than he had since before Christmas. Emotionally, he felt exhausted and…raw. So much had happened in the last week and thought he was beginning to understand and even accept it, he was still very confused. He had accepted that he had a family that he had never known, but he wasn't ready to accept the people who made up that family…at least not all of them.

Lily's delight at little things showed brilliantly on her face and he found himself wanting to see that smile more and more. He hadn't yet spent much time with Reg or Aurora, but he was planning to remedy that soon, now that most of the funerals were out of the way. These three were too innocent in the whole thing for him to hold a grudge against them. They had seemed to understand his mood the last few days, the older two steering clear while Lily tried to cheer him up.

It was the older three Malfoys that he had had problems with. Draco had been quietly hovering, ever ready to give his own opinion of things. Though he hadn't done that as often since Harry's Stinging hex the day before. Narcissa was even worse than Molly Weasley with her smothering. But at least Lucius had stuck mostly to the shadows, there yet not really. He was beginning to respect the man for the quiet presence that he had provided. A quiet presence that had reminded him very much of Snape.

A Snape who wasn't dead. A Snape that had managed to trick death. A Snape who had held him last night as he had bawled all over the man and didn't ridicule him or demand that he stop. A Snape who had actually sat and just talked to him for the first time…had talked to him until he fell asleep. Had Snape been the one to move him to his bed last night?

He got out of bed, showered and dressed in some of the new clothes that Narcissa had ordered for him. As he looked at himself in the mirror, he couldn't help but admire the fine cloth and cut of the clothing. She really did a good job of selecting his new wardrobe.

Deciding that he couldn't put his new-found family off any longer, he headed down the stairs, stopping as he passed the room with the Black Family Tree. Inside the room he could hear women's voices; Narcissa and Andromeda, he realized as he stood just outside the open door. After a moment of hesitation he stepped into the room. This was his house after all, and he needed to know what they were planning to do to the ancient tapestry.

"Good morning, Harry, dear," Narcissa greeted him, moving to kiss his cheek, but he stepped away from her. She didn't comment on his reaction. Instead she led him over to the tapestry. "Come see what we are doing."

Harry glanced at the tapestry and the first thing that he noticed was the place that had once contained the blast mark that had been Sirius' place in the family had been fully restored. He reached out and gently touched the man's face. "You repaired it…How?"

Andromeda rested a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Our aunt forgot that any woman born with the Black Family name could destroy, repair or add to the tapestry."

He leaned back against her unconsciously and she wrapped an arm around his shoulder. His gaze traveled over to the blast mark that had once represented her. It had been repaired and she had added her husband, daughter, son-in-law and grandson. "You added Remus. Thank you…Aunt Andy."

"He was part of this family too, Harry, but you are most welcome," she replied.

Narcissa tried not to feel jealous of the fact that her son was allowing her sister to touch him, but he had stepped away from her only moments before. She knew that it would take time for him to accept them and that he had been put through a lot recently, but it still hurt to see it. Sighing, she stepped forward and began the process of adding her other children to the tapestry.

Harry watched as his own face appeared on the tapestry beside Draco's followed in the next few minutes by Aurora, Reg and Lily. Once Narcissa finished with her work, he stepped away from Andromeda and turned to his mother. "Is Snape still here? I need to talk to him."

"He's down in the kitchen with Draco and Lucius," Narcissa replied.

He nodded and headed toward the door. He stopped and turned back to face them. "Since you can repair the tapestry…can you do something about your aunt's portrait? I don't want it to stay there. I want it down as soon as possible."

"We'll see what we can do, son."

He thanked them and left the room, heading down to the kitchen where Snape, Draco and Lucius were bent over what looked like legal documents. "What are you looking at?" he asked, taking a seat at the table and accepting the mug of coffee that Kreacher handed him.

"I'm trying to get all my legal affairs in order," Lucius told him.

"Why?" he asked, waving aside the plate of food that Kreacher offered him.

Lucius sighed. "The chances are very good that the three of us will soon be arrested for being Death Eaters. We will be in Azkaban until our trials. And with Severus having to stand trial as well, his testimony that I was helping him spy on the Dark Lord will likely be tossed out."

"Even though it may be the truth, the Wizengamot can't accept the testimony of another suspected or convicted Death Eater," Draco explained. "We can all understand why it has to be that way. If Father and Uncle Sev really were Death Eaters then they could just alibi each other and get away with whatever they did. It's not good for us, but that's just the way it works sometimes."

"I'll testify on behalf of all of you and talk to Kingsley as well to see what I can do," Harry said with a sigh. He gestured toward the papers. "Anything I should know about?"

Severus took the plate of food from Kreacher and put it in front of Harry. "Eat."

"I'm not hungry, Snape," he said, trying to push the plate away again, only to find that Snape was holding it in place.

"Either you eat the food or I will give you the foulest tasting Nutritive Potion that I can possibly brew," the man told him firmly.

Harry made a face, but began to eat as Draco chuckled.

Lucius shook his head. "Harry, if I am the only one arrested, then you won't have to worry about any of this. Draco is my heir and as such would be acting head of the family while I was away. However, if the both of us are arrested, then that job would fall to you as the next oldest male in the family. Cissy would be more than willing to help if you need to talk something out with someone.

"We have investments with several businesses, so there will be money coming into the vault. Unless the Wizengamot imposes some huge fines as well as time in Azkaban, you shouldn't ever have to worry about money. We have a very large vault and it is quite full.

"Or course, we're hoping that you will not have to worry about this at all, but it is a very real possibility. I hate to have to ask this of you Harry…"

Harry sighed and looked at the other three men. "I'll do it, sir. I'll take care of them while you are gone."


	11. Chapter 11

Harry ate as he listened to Lucius and Draco explain everything that he would need to know should they both get arrested. It was a lot to take in and only left him feeling even more confused than he had been when he had come into the room. He reached up to rub his temples and a vial was set in front of him. He turned to look at Snape, who had settled himself in the chair at the end of the table.

"It's a Headache Reliever, Harry. Take it," he said gently. "Don't worry about trying to remember everything. I'm taking notes for you."

"Oh…thank you, Snape…" Harry replied, before draining the vial and returning it to him.

Snape chuckled. "Harry, call me Uncle Sev like the other kids do. Please. Or even Severus as Draco does on occasion."

"I…uh…alright, Sever…Uncle Sev," Harry finally managed to say.

"That's better," he said before turning back to Lucius. "Continue."

Lucius and Draco talked for what seemed like hours before Lucius finally leaned back in his chair. "I think that's about everything. Any questions, Harry?"

"Just one, sir," Harry replied. "What is my re…birth name?" He had almost asked what his real name was, but had thought better of it. Harry Potter was the only name he had ever known; to him it was his real name, even if he had been born to Lucius and Narcissa.

"Scorpius Abraxas Malfoy," Lucius told him.

"That's a bit of a mouthful," Harry replied.

"That's what I told him," Snape said, chuckling again.

Harry looked down at the table, his fingers absently tracing the grain of the wood. The other three waited for him to speak again. "I…uh…I'm not quite sure how to say this…"

"Just say it, Harry," Lucius encouraged him.

"I…I've always been Harry. At the Dursleys I was just plain old Harry. Then at Hogwarts I was Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived. Well, I…I don't think I could be anyone other than Harry. I don't want to offend any of you, but I…I want to keep the name I've always known."

The room was quiet for a moment before Lucius finally answered. "That's fine, Harry. After all it has been eighteen years and you wouldn't remember being called Scorpius. It was only for about two days, anyway."

"Thank you," Harry replied, before turning to Severus. "Can I talk to you for a few minutes? Alone."

The man nodded and stood. "I'll head to the library," he said, heading toward the door.

Harry stood and started to follow him, but stopped when Draco spoke. "What's wrong with the name Scorpius? I think it's a good, strong name…"

"Then use it for your firstborn son," Harry tossed over his shoulder as he left the room. He went up to the library where Snape had taken a seat in one of the two chairs in front of the large fireplace. There was a fire going, but it gave off no heat. Harry took a seat on the floor in front of the Potions Master. "I'm sorry for crying all over you last night."

Snape shook his head. "Don't apologize. As long and as hard as you wept last night, you obviously needed it. Lucius, Narcissa and even Draco are very worried about you, Harry. I know that it's hard for you to accept that they are your family, but they do care about you. Lucius and Narcissa never stopped loving you, even though they gave you to James and Lily. This is the only family I have left, Harry, and it hurts me to see all of you in so much pain."

Harry pulled his knees up and hugged them, making him look much younger than his nearly eighteen years. "You saw what the Dursleys were like. I always wanted a real family, but I'm not sure…"

"You're not sure that you want this family," Snape finished for him.

Harry nodded. "I saw the memories and I…I trust you, sir. I really do. But I've gone all this time thinking that James and Lily were my parents…"

In a move that surprised Harry, Snape sat on the floor in front of him and rested a hand on Harry's arm. "Harry, Lucius and Narcissa are your birth parents, but James and Lily loved you as their own and gave their lives for you. Did Lucius show you the memory of the hospital when you were given to James?" Harry nodded again. "The charm that Narcissa used is a very old one that was often used in old pure-blood families when a family had no heir and chose to adopt one. When children are born they take part of their genetic makeup from their mother and part from their father, a mixture of both parents. What this charm does is to give the child the genetic makeup of not only the birth parents, but the adoptive parents as well. The child will then look like the adoptive parents, but the personality and magical traits come from all four parents."

"That's a bit confusing, but it does make sense. Does something like that happen often?"

"When it does happen, it's kept very quiet and within the family. The Blacks and the Potters are distantly related. Narcissa has always enjoyed studying obscure charms, which is how she knew it even though she's never seen it used herself."

"Is it--can it--is there any way to reverse the charm?"

"No. It is permanent. Adoption of any sort can not be undone and the adopted child can not be disowned. With an adoption you are saying that you choose to accept the child into your family until the death of the child, and provisions must be made in the Will of the parents or the adoption becomes void."

"I've got another question."

"Go ahead."

"If part of the reason I was given to James and Lily was because of the Malfoy estate being entailed to Draco as the firstborn son…what about Reg? He won't be able to inherit anything, will he?"

"That's correct. Draco realized the same thing several years ago and came and spoke to me. I have named Reg as the heir to my estate, small though it is. He won't be left completely penniless."

"What about the girls?"

"When Narcissa's parents died, the bride price that Lucius paid was left for any daughters that Lucius and Narcissa might have."

"So everything's been taken care of?"

"Yes, Lucius and Narcissa have made sure to provide for each of their children."

**AN: I am leaving as soon as I post this to move to another state for at least the next 6-8 weeks, possibly permanently. I'm not sure how much writing I will be able to do over the next few weeks, but I will update as often as possible.**


	12. Chapter 12

After lunch a few days later Harry retreated to his room and sat on the thin window seat, hugging his knees and staring out the window into the park across the street as he tried to process all the information he had been given over the last week.

There was a soft knock on the door and he looked up to see Andromeda standing in the open doorway. "Come on in," he told her.

"Can we talk, Harry?" she asked, sitting across from him. He nodded, looking back out the window again. "Are you trying to hurt Narcissa?"

He turned back to look at her. "What are you talking about?"

"This morning…she tried to kiss your cheek and you stepped away from her, but then you allowed me to hug you. She didn't say anything, but I could tell that she was hurt very deeply by that, Harry."

"I didn't mean to. I just…it felt wrong to let her do that."

"But you allowed me to hug you."

"I didn't even realize I had done that until later, Aunt Andy."

"That's another thing, Harry; you've started calling me 'Aunt Andy' and Severus is now 'Uncle Sev', but what about Lucius and Narcissa? You are still using their first names or 'sir' and 'ma'am'. I know you are still getting used to this whole thing, but not only is it hurting them both very deeply, it's also extremely disrespectful. You may be confused, but there is no excuse for being so rude.

"You've only had a couple of days to get used to them as your family, but Cissy has spent nearly eighteen years wondering, worrying and sometimes even mourning you, Harry. When You-Know-Who killed James and Lily, it took them nearly two days to find out that you were still alive. They spent ten years wondering what had happened to you and if you were healthy and happy, without any word at all. There were many sleepless nights spent pacing the halls at Malfoy Manor after your various Quidditch accidents and all the times you battled You-Know-Who.

"Do you know how hard it was for Lucius to sneer and be cruel to you when all he really wanted to do was snatch you up and take you home where you belonged? Or how terrifying it must have been for him when he arrived in that graveyard after answering the call of the Dark Mark to find you held captive by You-Know-Who and Cedric Diggory dead? Think about how his heart must have stopped when he realized that you were in the Department of Mysteries and how he had no choice but to duel with you and your friends. To not do so would have been instant death for all of you, and he could have gotten away, but he wanted to make sure that his son was safe and alive. He spent time in Azkaban because he was worried about you, Harry.

"Think about that day in the Forest when they both thought that You-Know-Who had killed you. When she realized that you were alive, Cissy wanted nothing more than to gather you in her arms and never let go. She did what she had to do, even though it broke her heart to do it. Had she called attention to the fact that you were really alive, then you would be dead for sure now. How do you think that would have made her feel?

"You aren't the only child she's had to hide, Harry. She's had to hide the youngest three in another country and leave them in the care of servants…only seeing them for a few days at a time. She's had to miss most of their lives. They both have.

"I know that you are confused, but try putting yourself in their shoes. Try to consider what they are going through." With that she stood and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Harry sighed and leaned his head against the cool windowpane. Andromeda was right, he had only been thinking about himself the last couple days. And that really wasn't like him at all. He couldn't fully understand what the past seventeen years had been like for them, but he could almost imagine it. Yes, he had gone through a lot the last few days, but so had they--and as parents it had to be worse for them.

He got up and headed downstairs to find his family, ready for the first time to actually take his place within the Malfoy family. He found Narcissa first, alone in the drawing room, and he sat down beside her on the sofa. After a moment of hesitation, he reached out and covered one of her hands with his own. "I'm sorry, Na…Mother."

"Harry, you don't have to call me that if you aren't ready. And you don't have to apologize."

"Actually, I do. I have been rather rude and disrespectful to you and…Father…the last few days. And I do need to apologize for that. I'm beginning to understand what all you've gone through because of me and for me, and there is no excuse for the way I've been treating you two."

"But James and Lily…"

"James is my Dad and Lily is my Mum, and they always will be, but that doesn't mean that I don't need you and Father too. I've wanted a family as long as I can remember, and now I've been given one. It's not the family that I wanted or even expected, but it is the family that I was born into and it's long past time for me to claim my true heritage."

Her only response was to pull him into a hug, and he allowed her to hold him close for several minutes, pulling away only when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," he told her, kissing her cheek and hurrying toward the door. He cast a silencing charm over the screaming portrait of Sirius' mother and threw open the door.

There were about a dozen Aurors standing on the other side of the door. "Mr. Potter," said the one closest to the door and the obvious leader of the group. "We are looking for Lucius Malfoy and Draco Malfoy. We were told that they had been residing with you."

Harry started to say something but stopped when a hand rested on his shoulder. He glanced back to see Lucius standing behind him. "They're here to--"

"I'm alright, Harry," his father replied, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "We know why they are here and we're going to go quietly."

"But Fa…"

This time is was the lead Auror who cut him off. "Severus Snape! You're--you're not dead!"

"Obviously," Severus drawled in a tone quite familiar to Harry.

"Well, since you aren't, you'll need to come with us as well."

Severus nodded. "Of course."

"Your wands, gentlemen," the Auror said, holding out his hand, while all the other Aurors pointed their wands at the group in the doorway.

"My wand was taken by You-Know-Who and destroyed. As Ollivander's is currently closed, I have not replaced it," Lucius said as Draco and Severus pulled their wands and placed them sideways across their palms extending them toward the Aurors. The lead Auror snatched them up rather quickly.

"Wait!" Harry said suddenly. "Draco's wand belongs to me. I won it from him in a duel and it is the wand that helped me defeat Voldemort. He was merely borrowing it until he could get a wand of his own. I'd prefer to keep my wand so that it doesn't accidentally get snapped, if you don't mind."

The lead Auror considered it for a moment before nodding and allowing Harry to take the holly wand from his hand. "Alright…you three, come on outside now."

Draco was the first to step outside, brushing Harry's shoulder as he walked past. Harry didn't need words to know that his brother was thanking him for saving the wand.

Severus stopped in the doorway and turned to face Harry. "I had promised to teach Reg to fly this summer, but I think you'll be able to teach him better. You will find money to buy him a broom and to replace yours in my vault. I have written Gringotts, giving you control over it." Harry nodded, unable to speak as his new-found godfather stepped outside to join Draco and the other Aurors.

Harry turned to face Lucius, unsure just what to say to the man. "I…I will take care of Mother and the children," he said, just loud enough for the man to hear.

Lucius reached out and placed his hand on his son's cheek. "Thank you, my son," came his whispered reply. He then stepped outside to join the others.

Harry stood and watched in silence as the Aurors Apparated his father, brother, and godfather away to Azkaban.

**AN: I officially started my new job today. I'll be working a lot of hours over the next 2-3 months, but I'll be making good money. If every day is like it was today, then I'll have a lot of time for writing, but the only way I'll be able to write is in longhand. At least it's writing, right?**

**I hope all of you are enjoying reading this story as much as I'm enjoying writing it. A few people have asked about pairings. The only one I know for sure is Harry/Ginny. I really have no plans or plot for this story, I just go where the muses take me. I know where I would like to take it, but sometimes the muses have other ideas. A good example of this is Snape. I hadn't planned to have him live, but the muses had other ideas.**


	13. Chapter 13

Harry slammed the door and turned to see Narcissa standing at the far end of the hall. "That was the Aurors," he told her. "Don't worry, I'm going to go speak to Minister Shacklebolt."

Narcissa nodded. "You'll want to change into better robes, then."

"I will," he replied, pausing to give her a hug as he walked toward the stairs. "Don't worry, Mother, I'll do what I can for them. I promised them that I would."

"I know you will, Harry."

"I'm going to take Reg with me. We have an errand to run for Uncle Sev when we finish."

She nodded, following him up the stairs and calling to her youngest son.

Reg stuck his head out of the first Regulus' room that he had been sharing with Draco. "Yes, Mama," he asked, his face lighting up when he saw Harry behind her.

"Harry needs you to go with him to the Ministry and to Diagon Alley. If you behave, perhaps he'll take you by the Quidditch store to look at brooms," she told him.

"Really?" he asked, this time looking at Harry.

Harry smiled down at the carbon copy of his twin brother. "Sure, Reg. But you'll need to be on your best behavior."

"I'll be good, Harry! I promise!"

Harry nodded. "Alright, go change into your good robes." The younger boy chirped a reply and disappeared back into his room. Smiling, Harry moved down the hall to his own room.

Ten minutes later, Harry and Reg Flooed to the Ministry. After checking in, they headed toward the Minister's office.

Less than an hour after the Aurors had taken Lucius, Draco and Severus from Grimmauld, Harry and Reg were being shown into Minister Shacklebolt's office. "It's good to see you, Harry," the man said.

"I wish I could say the same, Minister," Harry replied, shaking the man's hand.

"I'll ask you to clarify that statement in a moment, but first introduce me to your young friend."

He nodded. "Minister Shacklebolt, I'd like you to meet my younger brother, Regulus Sirius Malfoy." Reg gave a polite little bow.

"Malfoy?" Kingsley asked, looking back at Harry. "Brother?"

"That's why I'm here, Minister."

"Have a seat and we'll talk, Harry."

Harry and Reg took the two seats opposite the man's desk, Reg trying to be on his best behavior so that he would be able to go look at the racing brooms.

"Alright, Harry, tell me what this is about."

"About an hour ago, a dozen Aurors came to my house. They arrested Lucius and Draco Malfoy as well as Severus Snape."

Kingsley nodded. "Warrants were issued for all known Death Eaters. But I thought that Severus died during the battle."

"He took a vial of the snake bite potion that the Order used." When Kingsley nodded again he continued. "I'm here to speak on the behalf of my father, brother, and godfather."

"I thought Sirius was your godfather…"

"I had two, sir. Sirius was the godfather chosen for me by my adoptive parents. Severus is the godfather chosen by my birth parents."

"Harry, do you realize what you are saying?"

Harry nodded. "I do. I only just found out myself, but I trust the source of the information with my life. I have also seen the memories using a Pensieve. The Heir Adoption Charm was used, and that is why I look like James and Lily, rather than my birth parents."

"Are you sure?" the man asked.

"I'm quite sure. And I'd like to keep this quiet for now, if I may."

"It will stay in this office until you say otherwise."

"Thank you, sir. Now…I would like to speak on their behalf at their trials. Severus, as you know, was a spy for the Order. I know that after Dumbledore's death there were questions about his loyalty, but he never betrayed the Order. Dumbledore was dying anyway and arranged for Severus to kill him beforehand in order to keep my brother from having to do it.

"Draco only took the Mark because Voldemort threatened our parents' lives. His mission was to kill Dumbledore, but he couldn't do it. I had visions this past year of things that Voldemort made my brother do, and the things he did he never wanted to do. He was forced into doing them, sometimes by torture and other times because of the Imperius Curse.

"Dumbledore may have said that he believed in second chances, but he did not offer my father a second chance. Half of the information that Severus gave to the Order came from my father. James knew about this during the first war and so did Frank Longbottom."

Kingsley Shacklebolt was silent for a few minutes, taking in the information. "I trust you, Harry, you know that. But I'm afraid my hands are a little tied. They will have to go before the Wizengamot. And with Severus having to face them as well, they won't be able to accept his testimony in defense of Lucius. Draco is young and they might let him off. After the trials I will do what I can to commute or reduce their sentences. Unfortunately, that's the best that I can offer you, Harry."

Harry sighed deeply. "I guess it's better than nothing. Thank you, sir."

"I wish I could do better. However, you will be able to speak on their behalves at the trials."

"I'll do that, sir," he said standing.

Reg stood as well. He'd been very still and quiet while the older two wizards were talking. He looked up at his brother who looked really disappointed about something, so Reg slipped his hand into Harry's. That always made Mama feel better.

Harry gave his hand a little squeeze as they left the Minister's office.

--

Once in Diagon Alley, Harry and Reg walked to Quality Quidditch Supplies. They stood for a few minutes, admiring the brooms in the front window.

"Uncle Sev was going to get me a broom and teach me to fly," Reg told his big brother. "But he can't now because those people took him to Azkaban, didn't they?"

Harry sighed. "They did, Reg. But I'm going to do what I can to get Father, Draco, and Uncle Sev home, alright?"

The little boy nodded and leaned against his brother's side.

"You know what Uncle Sev asked me right before they took him?" Reg shook his head. "He asked me if I could teach you how to fly this summer."

"He did?" Reg asked, looking up at his brother.

Harry nodded. "He did. And he asked me to help you pick out a broom, too. But you know what else?" Reg shook his head again. "I lost my broom about a year ago and Uncle Sev said that we could pick out a broom for me, too."

Reg gave an excited little noise and then grabbed Harry's hand, pulling the older boy into the shop.

The owner came over to greet them. "Mr. Potter, welcome. We received an owl regarding your new broom this morning."

"An owl?" Harry said, looking confused. "I didn't even know I was coming until a couple hours ago…"

"Mr. Snape sent us an owl this morning stating that your broom had been lost and that you would be coming in sometime soon to replace it. And that he would need a child's broom for his youngest godson."

"That would be Reg," Harry replied, gesturing toward the boy at his side.

"It's nice to meet you, young sir," the man said. "Now, let's see what we can find for the two of you."


	14. Chapter 14

Harry and Reg finally left the Quidditch shop with two new brooms: a new Firebolt for Harry and an older model Cleansweep for Reg. Harry had balked at the idea of spending so much of Snape's money on a broom. Surely the man hadn't intended for him to buy the top-of-the-line broom to replace the one that Sirius had bought for him. But the shop owner had insisted, saying that the note from Snape had stated that Harry was to have another Firebolt. After that Harry decided to get Reg a Cleansweep rather than a child's broom so that Snape would not have to replace the broom again in a couple years. Reg could grow into his new broom.

"When can we go flying, Harry?" Reg asked, practically skipping alongside his brother as they headed toward the Leaky Cauldron to Floo home to Grimmauld.

Harry smiled down at Reg. "As soon as they owl our brooms to Grimmauld, I'll Floo-call the Burrow and see if we can go over there. They have a clearing where we've played a lot of Quidditch."

"Do you think I'll be a good Seeker like you and Draco?"

He stopped and knelt down. "Reg, if you really want to be a Seeker, then Draco and I will teach you to be a better Seeker than either of us. But don't be a Seeker just because we both are. Be a Seeker or a Beater or a Chaser or a Keeper because that's what you want to do. We won't love you any less if you decide not to play Qudditch at all."

"You'll really still love me?" the little boy asked, looking at his brother with uncertainty in his grey eyes.

"Of course we will," Harry responded, tapping the boy on the nose. "One of my best friends hates flying, but I still love her. She's a lot smarter than me and probably even smarter than Draco."

"Really?"

"Really. They competed for top grades the whole time we were at Hogwarts. Some people have called her the brightest witch of our age."

"I bet she and Rory would get along great."

Harry nodded. "Aurora reads all the time like 'Mione does. I'm sure 'Mione will be at the Burrow when we go over there."

"You said that you love her. Does that mean that you are gonna marry her someday?"

Harry chuckled. "No. Not Hermione. I love her like a sister."

"Who are you gonna marry? Draco was supposed to marry Pansy, but he's not now. I read it in his journal. But you can't tell Mother and Father 'cause it's a secret."

"Draco already told me, Reg. And it will be a while before I'm ready to get married, but one day I'd like to marry Ginny Weasley."

"Do you love her?"

"Very much so."

Reg nodded sagely. "Good." He bit his lip and glanced at his brother. "Are you gonna tell Draco that I read his journal?"

Harry couldn't help but smile at his brother. "I'm glad you approve. And I won't tell Draco. Are you ready to go home now?"

Reg nodded and they continued on to the Leaky Cauldron. "Does Ginny play Quidditch?"

"She does. Ginny's a good Seeker and Chaser. She played Seeker when I couldn't."

"Did that happen a lot?"

"Sometimes. The last time it was because Uncle Sev gave me detention during the Quidditch game."

"That was very mean of Uncle Sev."

"Not really, Reg. See...I had used a curse on Draco that hurt him very badly. I didn't know what it would do when I used it and I nearly killed him. He would have died if Uncle Sev hadn't come then."

"Why did you do it?"

Harry stopped and found a place to sit, standing Reg in front of him. He didn't really want to tell the boy all of this, but he deserved the truth. "You know how you and the girls had to hide for a long time?"

Reg nodded, slipping between Harry's legs and leaning against his knee. "Because there were some bad wizards who wanted to hurt us."

"That's right. Those same bad wizards, and one in particular who was really bad, wanted to hurt me too. When Draco and I were born, Mother and Father gave me to James and Lily Potter to keep me safe. But that really bad wizard found us and killed them. He nearly killed me too. No one else knew that I was a Malfoy so I was sent to live with some Muggles until it was time for me to start school.

"When it was time for me to start Hogwarts, I met Draco and we didn't like each other at all. We fought all the time. During our sixth year, he tried to use a nasty curse on me but before he could, I hurt him very badly."

"Do you still hate each other?" Reg asked.

"Not any more, Reg."

Reg leaned his head against Harry's shoulder. "Father, Draco and Uncle Sev are gonna be gone for a long time aren't they?"

Harry sighed and put his arm around his brother, hugging him. It still amazed him that he finally had the younger siblings that he had always longed for. "I'm going to do everything I can to get them home, but I may not be able to."

"They're good wizards right? Not like those bad wizards who tried to hurt us?"

"Yes, buddy. They are all good wizards."

"Harry?" came a new voice.

Harry looked up to see Hermione standing in front of them. He stood and quickly pulled his best friend into a hug. "It's good to see you, 'Mione."

"It's good to see you too," she said, as they both sat down.

Reg, who had been jostled aside when Harry stood, quickly reclaimed his place when they sat down, tucking himself close to his brother. Harry had said that this 'Mione person was one of his best friends, but Reg wasn't too sure about her yet.

Harry patted his brother's back comfortingly. "Reg and I came to get new brooms so that I can teach him how to fly," Harry explained to her. He had been forced to explain about the Malfoys to Hermione and the rest of the Weasleys when Draco had tagged along to Fred's funeral. Ron, predictably, hadn't taken it very well, but Hermione had been more understanding. She had given him a hug and told him that she was happy that he finally had a family, before going after Ron.

"Ron came with George to open up the shop today," she told them. "I just came to pick up a few things and I'll Floo back to the Burrow with Ron."

"I was just telling Reg about you, wasn't I, buddy?"

Reg nodded. "Harry said that you're the smartest witch he knows, and he loves you, but he's going to marry Ginny Weasley one day."

Hermione laughed. "Harry's like a brother to me and I love him too."

"Since you're so smart, can you help Harry figure out how to get Father, Draco and Uncle Sev get back home?" he asked her.

She looked at Harry for further explanation.

Harry sighed and explain how Snape had managed to beat death and how the Aurors had come and taken away the three former Death Eaters only a few hours before. He also told her of his conversation with the new Minister of Magic.

"The people are calling for blood, Harry, especially those who lost friends and loved ones," she told him.

"I lost friends and loved ones too, Hermione...Dad, Mum, Cedric, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Fred...I nearly died myself while killing that bastard to save the Wizarding world! There are still plenty of other Death Eaters out there if the people want blood, but they need to leave my family alone!"

"Harry..." Hermione started.

Reg cut her off. "Don't make Harry mad!" he told her. "If you don't want to help us, just go away." The look he gave her was worthy of his godfather.

"Reg," Harry hissed.

"We need help, Harry," the boy said, tears beginning to fill his grey eyes. "They can't stay in Azkaban. Father said that he nearly went crazy in there and Aunt Bella did go crazy! I heard Mother and Father talking about it!"

"Maybe we should go home," Harry told him, standing and keeping his now distraught brother close. Reg nodded against his side. "If you want to help, Hermione, I'll be at Grimmauld." Harry wrapped his arms around his brother and Disapparated them to Grimmauld Place.

**AN: Faithful readers, I need your help. If a godfather is supposed to buy a broom for his godson, what is he supposed to buy for his goddaughter? Let me know what you think.**


	15. Chapter 15

"Maybe we should go home," Harry told him, standing and keeping his now distraught brother close. Reg nodded against his side. "If you want to help, Hermione, I'll be at Grimmauld." Harry wrapped his arms around his brother and Disapparated them to Grimmauld Place.

Andromeda was in the kitchen preparing a bottle for Teddy. The newly reunited Black sisters had wanted to remain close to each other, so Harry had asked his aunt to move into Grimmauld with the rest of the family. It was a bit crowded, but no one seemed to mind. "How did things go at the Ministry?" she asked, depositing Teddy into his godfather's arms.

Harry sat down at the table holding his godson close. Something about holding the tiny bit of perfection was comforting to him and he tried to spend a little but of time with the baby every day. "Not so great really," he answered. "They'll have to stand trial, but Minister Shacklebolt said that he would do what he could to reduce of commute the sentences. The trails are in two weeks and he's given me permission to speak at them." He glanced over at the door. "Hello, Mother." Once he had called her that the first time, he found the name slipping off his tongue as easily as if he had been doing it his whole life.

"Hello, Harry dear," she replied, kissing his forehead and sitting beside him as Andromeda handed Teddy's bottle to Harry. "Thank you for trying to help them."

"I promised that I would. I'm going to take Reg to Hogwarts tomorrow to go flying with our new brooms," he told her as he fed his godson. When Teddy's inate magic wasn't taking control, he looked exactly like his father.

She nodded. "Just be careful."

"Don't worry, his Cleansweep is very safe."

"I'm more concerned about your Firebolt. Yes, Severus told Lucius and I what he was doing this morning."

Harry couldn't help but smile. "I'll be careful and won't even put Reg on my new Firebolt, no matter how much he begs."

"Thank you, dear."

"I wouldn't do anything to hurt any of them," he told her, looking up at the ceiling when they heard the doorbell. "Kreacher, go answer the door please."

The ancient house elf bowed and disappeared with a snap of his fingers. He returned a moment later. "Missy 'Mione is in the drawing room, Master Harry."

Harry couldn't help but snicker at the name his house elf used for his best friend. At least Kreacher had stopped calling her 'Mistress' like he had when they stayed here during the last year. "Thank you, Kreacher." He stood and went up to the drawing room with Teddy still in his arms.

"I'm such an idiot, Harry," Hermione said when he walked into the room.

"You were the one that I could always count on to stand by me no matter what anyone else did or said, 'Mione...even when Ron didn't. You told me that you were happy that I found a family, but now you don't want to do anything to help me save that family. I need your help, just like I always do, 'Mione."

She nodded. "I'm here, Harry...here to help. I spoke hastily and I'm sorry."

Harry stared at her for a moment before balancing Teddy and his bottle in one arm and holding his other out to him.

Hermoine stepped close, wrapping an arm around him in a hug. As soon as Harry had left her in Diagon Alley, she had felt bad for what she had said to him. He was right, she had always stood by his side, and she wasn't about to turn her back on him now. "Come with me to the Burrow, Harry," she told him. "We'll all sit down and come up with something. We miss seeing you over there, you know."

"I know..." he said with a sigh. "Give me a few minutes to hand off Teddy and change out of these robes and I'll go." With that he turned and walked out of the room.

While she waited, Hermione turned and walked over to look at the family tree, noting that it had been restored and added to.

"Any woman given the Black family name at birth can make changes to the tapestry," Aurora said as she walked into the room. She knew who this newcomer was from Draco's description on her.

Hermione turned to look at her. "Sirius was under the impression that it couldn't be repaired or even removed."

"It's been here for many, many years, but it can be removed. A very ancient form of blood magic is what allows the Black women to alter it."

"I'm Hermione Granger," she said, holding her hand out to the girl who looked like a Malfoy except for her black hair.

Aurora smiled. "Draco's told me about you," she replied, shaking Hermione's hand. "He said that you were the smartest student in your year..."

Hermione blushed slightly. "He sometimes bested me. I had to work very hard to get top grades with him around."

"He doesn't pay compliments often...but I'm forgetting my manners. I'm Aurora Isabelle Black Malfoy. I'll be starting at Hogwarts in the fall."

"Then you'll see me there. Since we missed our last year, I've decided to go back."

"You'll...you'll help Harry, won't you?"

"Of course, I will, Aurora. He's my best friend and I haven't turned my back on him yet." Hermione studied the girl before her for a moment. "Your family really loves Harry..."

"Yes. We do. Mother and Father only told us the truth last year after Father escaped from Azkaban, but that doesn't change how we feel about him. I think it helped us younger ones to see that they never stopped loving him...even though they thought they were protecting him when they gave him to the Potters. When I was younger I noticed that they would get this sad look in their eyes...Uncle Sev too...and the empty chair at the table during holiday meals...but it all made sense after they told us. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if Harry had always been with us..."

Harry rested his hand on Aurora's shoulder and squeezed it gently. "I'm glad that you too finally met. I knew you two would get along."

"Aurora told me that she'll be a first year. I told her I'm going back to Hogwarts in the fall," Hermione told him.

"Good...at least someone will be there to look out for my little sister," he said, giving Aurora's hair a playful tug. She made a face at him, causing him to smile. "Come on, 'Mione...let's go to the Burrow."

**AN: Thank you all so much for your answers to my question at the end of the last chapter. You gave me several WONDERFUL ideas.**

**As the chapters for this story are fairly short, I will probably update it every two to three days...providing that the muses are speaking to me. You can thank my wonderful new boss, who gave me a much needed day off to rest, for this chapter.**


	16. Chapter 16

It was late when Harry returned from the Burrow and he was quite happy to fall into his bed and get some rest. The day had been long and draining and he just wanted sleep. Just as he dozed off he heard a noise near his door. Propping up on one elbow, he squinted toward the door, trying to see what had made the noise. "Who's there?" he asked.

"Reg…" a small voice answered.

Harry sighed softly. "What is it, buddy?"

"I can't sleep."

He stood and started toward the door, lifting Reg up into his arms. "I'll come tuck you in, alright?"

Reg rested his head against Harry's shoulder. "Can't I sleep with you? Draco lets me sometimes."

"Oh…alright," he said after a moment, taking the boy over to his bed. "Climb in."

The boy scrambled across the bed and settled on the far side of the bed.

Harry stretched out again and just as he was about to doze off again, he felt a weight his legs. "Lily?"

"I want to sleep here too, Harry," his youngest sister said, still sitting on his legs.

He sighed again. Did all older brothers have to deal with this kind of thing? He would have to owl Bill or Charlie tomorrow and find out. "Alright, Princess…get off my legs and come on up here," he said, holding the blanket up for her to crawl under.

She climbed up next to him and snuggled against him, pulling the blanket down over her and then tucking his arm around her.

"Comfortable?" he asked, faintly amused.

She nodded against his chest. "Now shh…I'm trying to sleep."

Harry rolled his eyes and tried to sleep as well.

--

Harry sighed as he was led down the narrow corridors in Azkaban prison. While most of the Dementors had left the prison, a few remained and they now guarded the Death Eaters being held for trial. Thankfully, Harry's influence with the Minister had gotten his family placed on the level just above where the Dementors guarded, but their presence could still be felt.

He was first let into his father's cell. "Father…"

Lucius gestured for Harry to come sit beside him on the edge of the small cot, which was also a product of Harry's influence. The last time all he had slept on a pile of blankets on the floor. "Hello son."

"Mother sends her love," Harry told him, awkwardly. While accepting Narcissa as his mother had come somewhat naturally after he had finally admitted it to himself, he was having a much harder time with Lucius.

"How is she, Harry?" he asked.

"She…seems to be doing well, but I don't think she's sleeping much."

Lucius nodded. "She probably isn't. She had trouble sleeping the last time too."

Harry sighed. "Reg and Lily have decided that they can't sleep unless they are in my bed…and Reg kicks."

"Draco has complained about that before, but he still allows Reg to sleep in his bed whenever he wishes."

Harry got up and walked over to the thin hole in the wall that was supposed to be a window. "The Minister said that he would do what he could after the trial, but that the three of you would have to stand trial. I've been trying to talk him into pardons, but he said that it would depend on what sentence the court hands down."

"Thank you for trying Harry."

He nodded and walked toward the door. "They only gave me a short time to visit and I need to check on the other two."

Lucius watched his son leave, sighing deeply. He only hoped that the new Minister would come through so that his family could start to finally heal.

Harry leaned against the wall out in the corridor and ran his fingers through his hair before moving on to his brother's cell. Draco was sitting on his cot, hugging his knees. He didn't even look up when Harry walked in. Sighing, Harry sat next to him, watching as his brother, who was even paler than normal, twitched and jumped at every little noise. He reached out and rested his hand on Draco's arm. "I'm doing what I can to get you out…"

Draco's arm slowly twisted under Harry's and his cold fingers wrapped around Harry's wrist, squeezing lightly.

Harry turned his hand so that he was gripping his brother's wrist as well. "Your trial is next week."

Draco's grey eyes met Harry's and he stared deep into his brother's eyes as if trying to tell him something.

"I don't know how long a Patronus will stay once I'm gone…but I can try to leave one with you," Harry said, as if sensing his brother's despair. With his right hand, he pulled out his wand and cast the Patronus, his stag coming to stand near Draco.

Draco heaved a sigh and closed his eyes, his head dropping onto his knees.

The door opened and the guard stood, waiting for Harry to come out. Harry reached out and touched Draco's unwashed hair, before gently prying his arm loose and leaving the cell. "How long has he been like that?" he asked the guard.

"I haven't heard him say anything since the first day. And I'm not sure that he's eaten anything either. I think he's done nothing but sit there, actually."

"What do you mean you don't think he's eaten?"

"Look, I don't bring in meal trays or take them away either. We can't force them to eat, kid."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Take me to Snape's cell."

The guard led him further down the hall and opened yet another cell door.

"When I finish here I'm going back to Draco's cell…and I want a tray of food delivered."

"Look, kid…"

"That's Mr. Potter to you. And if you want to keep your job, you'll do as I say!" he snapped at the man. He turned and stepped into the cell. "Uncle Sev…"

Snape smirked at Harry. "You should just like a Malfoy…"

Harry growled and started pacing in the small cell. "I think Draco's losing it, Uncle Sev. He's just sitting there and he didn't say anything. I'm not sure he's eating or sleeping either."

"You need to convince him to eat, Harry. He can't last too much longer without food."

Harry nodded, sighing deeply. "I'll try."

Snape reached out and ran his hand over Harry's mop of hair. "You have a good heart, Harry."

"I don't know if I can do this, Uncle Sev…I'm just…I'm so tired…"

"How much sleep are you getting?"

Harry snorted. "If you knew how much Reg kicked you wouldn't be asking that question…"

"Why isn't he sleeping in his own bed?"

"He says that he can't sleep…but, you know, the last couple nights he hasn't even tried going to his bed. Lily either."

"Tonight make them stay in their own beds. I know that you want to take care of them, Harry, but you can't do it at the risk of your own health. Tell them to stay in their own beds and take some Dreamless Sleep. You are bound to need it after coming here today."

Harry nodded and stepped into the hug the man offered. When the door opened, he sighed and turned to leave.

"Harry?"

He stopped and looked back at his godfather.

"I'm proud of you."

Harry nodded, leaving the cell and heading back to his brother's, hoping to convince him to eat.

**AN: Thank you Alex for bringing to my attention how long it had been since I had last updated. I hadn't even realized how long it had been. I've been spoiling all of you with updates every 2-3 days. I had some trouble with this chapter and that was part of the reason for the delay. The other reason was because my boss gave me two very much needed days off and I went home to see my family.**

**Someone asked about Sirius' mother and I thought I would go ahead and clarify for all of you. She was born a Black and married a Black. I'm glad that I do my research before I write because you all keep me on my toes with your questions.**


	17. Chapter 17

The next morning, after a full twelve hours of sleep, Harry made his way to Gringott's bank and was shown into Bill Weasley's office. After dinner at the Burrow the week before Bill had offered to check on the details of Harry's inheritance, both from the Potters and Sirius, since Harry had never been told exactly what had been included in either estate. "Thanks for doing this, Bill," Harry said, shaking the man's hand and taking a seat across from his desk.

"You're welcome, Harry," Bill replied and began looking through the stacks of parchment on his desk. "Now let me just find the paperwork I had for you…"

Harry chuckled. "Can I ask you a question? It's an older brother thing…"

"Sure. Go ahead."

"Well…did any of your siblings ever sleep in your bed? Like after a nightmare or something?"

Bill stopped digging through the parchments on his desk and sat back looking at Harry. "All the time…especially Ginny. She was a good baby, as long as she was being held…and as you can imagine, Mum didn't really have a lot of time to just sit and hold her. So, being the oldest, the job naturally fell to me. Sometimes at night when she woke up she wouldn't quiet down for anyone but me. There were a lot of nights that she would come sleep in my bed when I was home from school. Up until I left to work for Gringott's, really. It just goes with the territory, I'm afraid."

Harry nodded. "I figured it must…"

"How do you like being an older brother?"

"Most of the time it's great, but after a week of Reg kicking me black and blue in his sleep…"

Bill chuckled and started digging through the parchment again. "I wouldn't trade being an older brother for anything. Ah…Here we go. After James and Lily were killed, the Potter ancestral home was sold. It changed hands a few times and I could find no records of who holds it now. The money from the sale was placed in your vault."

Harry looked at the parchment Bill handed him and his eyes grew wide when he saw the amount in the vault that he had inherited from James and Lily. With the Potter vault alone he would be able to live quite comfortably at Grimmauld Place. "I never realized how much was in there."

"It does add up."

He placed the parchment back on the desk. "What about Sirius' vault?"

"Well, you know you own Grimmauld Place and Kreacher," Bill said, handing him another piece of parchment. "I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but since I know who you really are…The Black vault is about the same size as the Malfoy vault, however the Malfoy holdings are much more extensive. I'm sure that you've been told that the Malfoy estate has been entailed upon Draco, but there is a very distinct possibility that you could inherit the LeStrange estate as well."

"The LeStrange…you mean Bellatrix…"

Bill nodded. "Bellatrix, her husband and brother-in-law were all killed during the Battle. The LeStrange brothers were the last of their line, so everything would have gone to Bellatrix. With her gone as well, it goes to her next of kin, which is Narcissa."

Harry sat back in his chair, raking a hand through his hair. "I never imagined…is…if I were to inherit the LeStrange vault, would I be able to give it to someone else?"

"You have someone in mind?"

"Reg," Harry replied. "With Draco getting the Malfoy vault and me getting the Potter and Black vaults, he kinda gets the short end of the stick."

"It wouldn't take much work for you to sign a vault over to your brother if you wished."

"Thanks, Bill."

"You're welcome Harry. Come around to Shell Cottage for dinner some night."

"I'll do that."

--

Despite his best efforts, Harry had been unable to do anything to stop the trial of his father, brother and godfather. Kingsley Shacklebolt had told him that the there had been some changes in the setup of the government and that even though he was now the Minister for Magic, that role did not include being head of the Wizengamot. He did however manage to convince the Wizengamot to hold one trial for all three and promised to do something after the trial about the sentences, should he need to.

The morning of the trial was dark and overcast and Harry walked into the courtroom with Narcissa, finding them seats on the first row. Hermione had given him an idea and he needed to be close. He reached over and took Narcissa's hand as Lucius, Draco and Severus were led into the courtroom by Aurors. Narcissa squeezed his hand when they caught sight of Draco, who was ghostly pale and his eyes were glazed over. When Harry looked closely, he could see his brother's hands twitching as they had been the two times he had visited him in Azkaban.

As the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot called for the start of the trial, Harry stood. "I would like permission to address the Wizengamot before the trial proceeds," he said, taking a step forward.

The Chief Warlock, a man whose face Harry recognized but could not remember his name, nodded. "Go ahead, Mr. Potter."

Narcissa gave his hand another squeeze before letting it go as he stepped away from her. He glanced over at his father and godfather, who both gave him an encouraging nod. Nodding he return, he looked back at the Wizengamot. "Good witches and wizards, you all know who I am…and you all know not only what I have done for the wizarding world, but also what the wizarding world has done to me. Only a few years ago I stood in this very courtroom on trial for a simple case of underage magic after defending my cousin and myself from Dementors who were sent to attack me by a member of this very court."

He stopped and took a deep breath. "I am not exactly who everyone believes I am. Nearly seventeen years I have longed for the parents that I don't remember. I have wondered what it would be like to be part of a real family. In the hours after the Battle I was told the truth about my parents. The true son of James and Lily Potter died just a few hours after his birth. Using an Heir Adoption Charm my true parents, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, gave me to the Potters. There was a prophecy stating that the one who had the power to defeat the Dark Lord would be born at the end of July to parents who had thrice defied him. While the few who knew of the prophecy believed that there were only two couples who fit this prophecy, there were in fact three: the Potters, the Longbottoms and the Malfoys.

"When first presented with the offer to join the Voldemort, Lucius Malfoy refused to join. Later, after finally giving in, Lucius began feeding information about the Voldemort and his Death Eaters to James Potter and Frank Longbottom, who in turn passed this information on to the Order of the Phoenix. He also refused to give his twin sons over to the service of the Voldemort as was expected of him. Thrice defied.

"Lucius and Narcissa gave me to the Potters in hopes that one of their sons would survive the coming war. After the deaths of James and Lily they were forced to wait for ten years for news of my whereabouts. They had to sit by and watch year after year as Voldemort or his Death Eaters tried time and again to kill me. At times, Lucius was even sent after me himself, and had to follow orders to protect his position."

Harry turned and looked over at his godfather before glancing back at the members of the Wizengamot. "My godfather, Severus Snape, never strayed from his position as Dumbledore's eyes and ears among the Death Eaters, even when it was believed that Voldemort was dead after he first used the Killing Curse against me. While it is true that he used the Killing Curse on Albus Dumbledore, it was arranged many months before that he would do so. Dumbledore was already dying and that very night only had a few hours at most left to live."

He paused again and turned to look at his brother. "The only reason Draco Malfoy, my twin brother, took the Dark Mark was to protect our mother, who Voldemort threatened to hurt if he did not. Any acts that he committed were done either under the Imperious Curse or because our mother had been threatened.

"I have never asked for anything from the wizarding world and I ask for nothing except the freedom of my family."

"Are you quite sure about this, Mr. Potter?" asked the Chief Warlock.

"I will take Veritaserum if the court so wishes."

The Chief Warlock stared at Harry for a moment before speaking again. "I don't believe that will be required. We will take two days to reconsider this matter. Return the prisoners to Azkaban."

Draco's head jerked around to stare at his brother. "Harry..." he called out, his voice rusty from disuse, as one of the Aurors grabbed his arm to lead him out of the courtroom. His eyes were filled with utter terror and tears began to fill them.

"Wait," Harry told the Auror, walking over to Draco. He reached a hand out to his brother and Draco's icy fingers closed around his wrist as they had both times that Harry had visited him in Azkaban. Harry grasped his brother's wrist as well and after a moment of hesitation, pulled his brother into a hug. "Be strong, Dragon," he whispered, his free hand resting on the back of Draco's head. "I will not rest until you are free." He continued to hold him close, offering his brother his strength, until the Auror pulled Draco away from him and led him from the courtroom. Harry glared at the members of the Wizengamot for a moment before stalking out of the courtroom, followed closely by Narcissa.


	18. Chapter 18

That night, Harry paced around the house on Grimmauld Place like a caged animal. He had tried several times to distract himself, but found that nothing worked. Reg and Lily refused to sleep in their own beds, so he tucked them into his bed, fully intending to find another bed to sleep in for the night. After the rest of the family had gone to sleep, Harry found himself wandering into the room that Severus had been using before the arrest.

Sighing deeply, he sat down at the old roll-top desk beside the window and began absently poking around in all the little cubbies in the desk. Bored with that after a while, he got up to go look at the books on the bookshelf across the room, hoping to find something there to distract himself. Halfway across the room one of the floorboards gave a familiar creak under his foot. Smiling to himself he knelt down to explain the creaky floorboard. It was loose! Carefully prying it open, he found a small, leather bound journal and pulled it out.

He opened the journal and was surprised to find that the handwriting inside was not the familiar script of the Potions Master, but this was more feminine. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he flipped to the beginning to find the name of this mysterious woman. The name 'Camille Tyler' was printed on the first page in the same handwriting that filled the book. Harry leaned back against the headboard and began to read.

In the wee hours of the morning, Narcissa knocked lightly on the open doorframe just as Harry finished reading. "Harry…what are you doing up?"

He sighed and rubbed his weary eyes. "I couldn't sleep and then I started reading. Didn't realize how late it was."

"What are you reading?" she asked, coming over to sit beside him.

"This journal I found. Did you know that Uncle Sev was married?"

Narcissa had been giving him a disapproving look, but stopped at his question. "No. I didn't. Are you sure?"

He nodded, sitting up and handing her the journal. "This is her journal. She's a Squib and they have a little girl who was born just before the Tri-Wizard Tournament. He wrote a note in the back saying that he went and Obliviated her after Voldemort returned in order to protect her…he took her journal then."

"He never said anything…" she said, flipping through the journal.

"I think she really loved him, Mother. At least that's the way it sounds from her entries."

Narcissa continued flipping through the journal, pausing every couple pages to read an entry. "Harry, I think you should go find her. She needs to understand what's going on. That poor baby deserves to know her father."

"That's what I was thinking."

"You do understand what that is like," she whispered, reaching up and caressing his cheek.

He leaned into her touch.

She gently took his face in both hands and pulled his head down to kiss his brow. "She'll be registered at the Ministry, so we should be able to find her fairly easily. Convincing her about all of this may be a little more difficult since Sev Obliviated her," she said, gesturing to the journal in her hand.

"Hopefully she'll believe her own journal. Maybe I should make another trip out to Azkaban and talk to Uncle Sev first…"

"No. I think it best if we just try to bring her to the last part of the trial."

--

It took Harry most of the day to get permission to search the records and once he got the address, he went straight over to her house. He stood just outside the low iron fence surrounding the yard watching a little girl play with a pair of kittens: one black, the other white. Her skin was pale and she had long, curly black hair.

She looked up and smiled at him. There was no denying that she was the daughter of his godfather. "Hallo."

Harry found himself smiling in return. "Hallo. Are you Katherine?"

She nodded, hugging the little black kitten. "Mummy calls me Katie Beth. What's your name?"

"Harry. That's a cute kitten you have."

"His name is Skit. The white one is Skat."

"Those are great names. Is your Mum home?"

The little girl nodded. "I'll get her," she said, dropping the kitten in her arms and running toward the house.

While she was inside Skat tried to escape through the bars in the fence near where he stood. He bent down and scooped it up in his hands. "I don't think you should be doing that…" A moment later Skit climbed through the fence as well. Picking him up as well, Harry let himself into the yard and placed the kittens on the porch as Katie Beth returned with her mother.

The woman stared at him for a moment. "Harry Potter?" she asked, shocked.

"Yes ma'am."

"I read about your family this morning in the _Prophet._"

He took a deep breath. "That's why I'm here, Ms. Tyler." He pulled the small journal from his pocket and held it out to her. "I think this belongs to you."

Camille took the journal and opened it, flipping through the pages. "I…I wondered where this had disappeared to."

"My godfather had it, ma'am."

"Severus Snape?" she asked, remembering the name from the article that she had read that morning. He nodded. "I thought his name sounded familiar when I read it in the paper this morning. Why would he have it?"

Harry stuck his hands in his pockets. "He married you before Katie Beth was born. But then Voldemort returned and Severus decided to protect the two of you. So he erased your memories of him and took your journal. But you don't have to believe me. Please just read your journal and the letter he wrote you in the back of it. I think he would appreciate it very much if you came to the trial in the morning."

"I have this image in my mind about what her father looked like, but I can never remember a name or anything about it. I even checked her birth certificate, but the father's information was blank. I've wondered all these years..." She hugged the journal to her chest. "I'll…I need to think about it."

He nodded. "I understand. But think about Katie Beth. She should be able to get to know her father. I'll come back in the morning and get you if you decide to go to the trial. My aunt would be more than willing to watch Katie Beth while you go with my mother and I."

She nodded before turning and herding her daughter into the house with the kittens.


	19. Chapter 19

Lucius stood in the courtroom near his oldest son, his hand resting on Draco's shoulder, speaking softly to the twitching young man. Severus looked around the crowded courtroom, his eyes stopping on Harry, Narcissa and…could it be? Was that Camille? How often in the last two weeks had his mind drifted to her and his daughter?

After he had lost Lily, he thought that he would never love again. He had never wanted to love again. But then he had looked into her clear blue eyes and he lost his heart in a way that hadn't with Lily. He had tried to deny that he had ever had a heart, but he found himself going back to see her day after day. Those days had been the best that he'd ever known and toward the end of the summer they had been married in a quiet Muggle ceremony. No one found out, not even Albus. He went to see her as often as he could sneak away from Hogwarts. Their daughter had been born the following summer just before the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

After the last event, once he had appeased both of his masters, he slipped away to her house and had spent one last weekend with them before he had Obliviated Camille and removed all evidence of himself from the house. It had been the hardest thing he had ever done. Camille had made him feel alive again. But it was for their protection, he told himself. To many people Squibs were as bad as Muggles and if any of his fellow Death Eaters had found out about his wife and daughter, they would have both been killed.

He had destroyed everything he had taken from her house, except for the journal which he had tucked into his vault, unable to bring himself to destroy it too. Besides, once the Dark Lord was defeated, he would need it to prove his case to her. When he had woken up from the potion induced coma, he had gone to let the Malfoy family know that he was alive and the very next day had gone to Gringott's to retrieve the journal. It had taken several days to convince himself to go see Camille and their now four-year-old daughter. The very day that he had finally convinced himself to go, he had been arrested by the Aurors along with Lucius and Draco.

Harry stood and walked over to join them while they waited for the last couple members of the Wizengamot. "Uncle Sev…"

"How did you find her?" the Potions Master asked.

"I couldn't sleep the other night and found her journal in your room. I know I should have left it alone, but I'm not really sorry I did it."

"We'll discuss it later," Severus told him, sighing deeply. "The baby…"

"I can show you," he said, lifting his face and meeting the man's eyes.

Surprised, Severus cast a wordless, wandless _Legilimens. _In Harry's mind, Severus saw the memory of his daughter playing in the yard with her kittens. He pulled away from Harry's mind. "Thank you, Harry."

"Did I do the right thing, sir?" he asked.

"Yes. I was planning to do that myself before all this started," he replied, squeezing Harry's shoulder. "Though I'm not too happy about your snooping in my room…"

"I couldn't sleep and needed something to do," Harry explained with a shrug.

The Chief Warlock and the other senior members of the Wizengamot came into the room and the Chief Warlock called the room to attention. Harry moved back to take his seat beside Narcissa, waiting anxiously to see how the Wizengamot would respond to his request of two days before. The Chief Warlock looked around the room, meeting Harry's gaze. "Mr. Potter, it seems that you quite an advocate in our new Minister. I don't like the idea of allowing any Death Eaters go free, no matter what they might have done to help bring down He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. There are many people in this room who have lost loved ones to these people."

Harry stood quickly, unable to allow the man to go on further. "I beg your pardon, sir, but I've lost loved ones too. James and Lily Potter gave their lives for me. Up until a few weeks ago, I believed them to be my parents. And I still consider them my parents, along with the Malfoys. I lost my other godfather, Sirius Black, when Bellatrix LeStrange knocked him behind the Veil. I lost several very dear friends: Cedric Diggory, Colin Creevey, Fred Wealsey and Remus and Nymphadora Lupin."

"Yes, young man, but these three…"

"These three helped in the defeat of Voldemort. I would not have been able to do it without them!"

"Harry," Lucius said sharply, giving his son a look that clearly said for him to calm down.

Harry took a deep breath and gave the Chief Warlock a look.

The old man returned the look for a moment before looking at Severus. "Professor Snape, no matter what sentence this court hands down, the Minister has informed us that he intends to give you a full pardon. So in an effort to save a great deal of paperwork, you are free to go," he said, dismissing him with a wave of his hand.

Severus gave the older wizard a disbelieving look before snorting and nodding in the direction of Kingsley Shacklebolt. He moved to stand beside Harry, resting his hand on the boy's shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. Harry looked at his godfather over his shoulder and gave him a brief smile.

The Chief Warlock turned to Lucius and Draco. "Misters Malfoy…Minister Shacklebolt could not vouch for the two of you personally, however, he did express a great deal of trust in Mr. Potter. You may have been helping the Light, but you did commit crimes while doing so. Your judgments are as follows: Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, a fine of 100,000 galleons; Draco Lucius Malfoy, a fine of 10,000 galleons." At his pronouncement, Draco's knees gave out in relief and Lucius had to hold him on his feet.

Harry stepped forward again. "Sir, you may take the money from my vaults at Gringotts."

"Harry! No!" Narcissa cried out, but Lucius waved her off with his free hand. They would deal with it later. Right now, they just needed to get out of here.

"Very well, Mr. Potter," the Chief Warlock said. "Please step over to the clerk and fill out the paperwork."


	20. Chapter 20

"Daddy!" Lily cried, throwing herself at Lucius when the group from the trial Apparated into the front hall, the other two not far behind her. Lucius nearly dropped Draco, who was still barely standing on his own, in an effort to catch them before any of them got hurt.

Harry caught his brother. "Come on…I'll take you upstairs," he said, before Apparating them both upstairs.

Lucius gathered his three youngest close in a tight hug, kissing them each in turn. He had been away from the before, but this time had been the worst yet.

Upstairs Harry helped Draco clean up and get into a clean pair of pajamas, before helping him into his bed. "Just rest…"

Draco caught Harry's wrist. "Thanks," he managed to whisper.

"You're welcome," Harry told him.

Severus stepped into the room with two vials of potion, followed by Camille. "Here, Draco," he said, helping the blond sit up and drink the two potions.

"What's that?" Camille asked him, stepping close.

"Nutritive Potion and Dreamless Sleep," he explained. "He hasn't been eating or sleeping much…" Potions consumed, Draco lay back on his pillow and closed his eyes. Severus turned to Harry. "Will you keep an eye on Katie Beth so that Camille and I can talk?"

"Sure," Harry said, before heading back downstairs.

Once sure that Draco was sleeping, Severus stood and led Camille down the hall to his room. "Harry gave you the journal…"

She nodded. "Yes. I do understand why you did it, Severus."

He sighed in relief. "I'm glad you do. I've thought a lot about the two of you the last few years."

"Why didn't you erase your own memories?"

"I'm a skilled Occlumens. No one could find those memories unless I wanted them too."

"You didn't tell your friends about me. Or did you erase their memories as well?"

"There were still too many Death Eaters free. The fewer people who knew about you, the safer you and Katie Beth were."

"Were you ashamed of us?"

"Never!" he said, looking startled at the suggestion. He gently took her face in his hands, rubbing his thumb along her high cheekbone. "You two were the best things that ever happened in my life, Camille. You don't know how hard it was for me to take those memories from you. It was the last thing I wanted to do, but I had to protect you and I couldn't think of any other way."

She nodded. "What about the marriage license?"

"We had a Muggle wedding and all of our paperwork was filed through the Muggle courts. The Dark Lord would never have thought to look there. Neither would his Death Eaters. That's why we did it that way." He felt himself lower his head to kiss her, but suddenly snapped back to reality. No matter how much he longed for her touch, to feel her lips against his, he had to remind himself that she wasn't ready for it. She didn't remember the love that they had shared and he would have to give her time. Time and a Memory Restorative, perhaps.

"Severus…" she said with a sigh. "I've read the journal, but I still don't remember any of it."

"Don't worry, Camille. We'll take all the time you need, but I do want to be a part of my daughter's life." Though he said the words, he really wanted nothing more than to kiss her and show her just how much he loved her, making up for all the time that they had lost.

She smiled at him softly. "Good. She asks about her father all the time."

"I've missed so much…"

"You're here now, Sev," she said, taking his larger hands in hers and giving them a squeeze. "And it's a good thing too; I think your daughter is going to quite a powerful witch."

He smirked. "She's showing signs already?"

"She has two kittens that were both black and white. I went into her room one day and she had one black kitten and one white kitten. She told me that she couldn't tell them apart and she thought real hard about making them change and they did."

"That is…quite amazing really," he said, shocked.

"Let me go get her so that you can meet her…"

"I'd like that, but give me a few minutes to clean up first? I don't want her to see me like this."

"How long do you need?" she asked him.

"Half an hour." She nodded and slipped from the room. He quickly showered and changed into clean robes, before pulling his hair back. Now that he didn't have to continue his role of spy, he could finally relax and be himself once more, something he hadn't allowed himself to do since the two summers he had spent with his beloved wife.

There was a loud pop and he turned to see Kreacher setting a tea tray on the low table in front of the hearth.

"Thank you, Kreacher."

"Master Harry's new godfather is most welcome," the elf said. "Does Kreacher need to prepare a room for Missy and the child?"

"Yes. Close to mine, if you would."

Kreacher bowed and disappeared with a pop. As he did, the door opened and Camille stuck her head into the room. "Can we come in?"

"Please do," he told her.

She opened the door further and led Katie Beth into the room, closing the door and then kneeling down beside the little girl. "Katie Beth, honey…you know how we talked about your daddy last night?"

"Yes Mummy," Katie Beth nodded. "Is he my Daddy? He's got black hair like mine…"

Severus knelt in front of her, having to restrain himself from taking her into his arms and never letting go. "Yes, precious. I am your daddy. I had to go away for a while, but I'm here now…and I'll never leave you or Mummy again."

She stared at him for a moment before throwing herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck as tight as she could. If he was really her daddy then he would give her a bear hug just like the daddy in her dreams always did. And he would kiss her and let her sit on his knee and maybe let her eat some of the biscuits that she could see over on the little table by the fire. They were her favorite kind of biscuits, so they must be for her!

He wrapped his arms around her and held her as tightly as he could without hurting her. Tears threatened to fall and he had to close his eyes to keep them from spilling down his cheeks. He kissed her little face several times, telling her how much he loved her and that he was sorry that he hadn't been there for her. After several minutes he stood, settling her on one hip and holding out his free hand to Camille to help her up. Together they walked over to the small sofa and sat down, Katie Beth on his lap, still tucked close to him. He picked up the plate of biscuits and held them in front of her. Katie Beth grinned at him and took a biscuit before leaning up to kiss his cheek.

--

Downstairs Lucius pried himself away from his three youngest, who didn't seem to want to let him out of reach, and went in search of Harry. He found him sitting at the kitchen table staring at a half-full glass of Firewhiskey, his head propped up on one hand. Lucius sat across from him. "How many of those have you had?" he asked.

Harry blinked and looked up at him. "Huh? Oh…this is the first."

"We need to talk, son."

"I figured as much…"

Lucius sighed and moved the glass of Firewhiskey away from Harry. "You know that paying those fines will empty your vaults."

"I really don't care," he said sullenly.

"I'm going to transfer the money from my vault into yours Harry."

"Don't."

"I still have several businesses and factories that are bringing in money. You don't have anything like that. If you turn all that money over to the Ministry to pay our fines, you'll have nothing left."

"I told you, _Father_, I don't care. Mother and the kids need you and Draco more than I need my money."

Lucius sighed again, wondering what he could do to help this stubborn son of his. "How about we work out a deal?"

Harry raked his fingers through his hair. "What kind of deal?"

"You let me pay my own fine and I'll let you pay Draco's if you are going to insist on paying."

He was silent for a moment, considering this. "Will you help me find out what happened to the house that James' parents owned?"

"Yes."

"And take us all away from here. But not to the Manor. Just somewhere away from this house, this city and the Ministry. I want to get away."

Lucius nodded. He had been planning on doing that anyway. "I know just the place."


	21. Chapter 21

Later that evening, after Camille had bathed Katie Beth and put her into her nightgown, the little girl insisted on being able to say good night to Harry, who she attached herself to when she couldn't be with her daddy. So Severus lifted her into his arms and carried her down the hall to the Regulus Black's old room. Harry had switched with Reg so that he would be there should Draco need anything during the night. When they entered, Draco was awake and Harry was holding a mug of something that he was trying to get his brother to drink; the lights in the room had been spelled very low. Severus walked over to them. "Clear liquids?" he asked, looking into the mug.

Harry nodded. "Chicken broth. Mother said that it was best for him to start with liquids for now."

"It is," he replied, setting Katie Beth on the bed. He tilted Draco's face up toward his and lit the end of his wand, holding it near the boy's face so that he could get a good look into his eyes.

Draco winced and pulled his head away. "Too bright..." he muttered.

Severus snorted and ran a quick diagnostic spell before putting his wand away. "I'll bring something to help you sleep shortly." Draco nodded and sipped at the broth in the mug that he held with Harry's help because his hands were still shaking too badly to hold it on his own. The Potions Master watched them for a moment, glad that they had learned to get along. "Katie Beth, this other young man is Draco. He's Harry's twin brother," he told his daughter. "Harry, she wanted to tell you good night."

Harry gave a little smile and set the mug on the table beside the bed, holding an arm out to her. "Good night, Katie-bug."

"G'night, Uncle Harry," she said, for Mummy had said to call him that, and gave him a hug and kissed his cheek. She then turned to Draco. "Can I give you a hug and kiss too?"

Draco gave her a weak nod.

Smiling, she gingerly climbed over to him, hugging and kissing him too. "G'night, Uncle D'aco."

Smirking, Severus reached for his daughter. "Come on, Precious. Bed time." He lifted her into his arms and carried her down the hall and up the stairs to the room she would be sharing with Camille. He sat down in the ancient rocking chair in front of the hearth, which he light with the wave of his hand. The fire that now burned there gave off very little heat, but filled the room with a soft glow and the soothing sounds of a fire.

Katie Beth snuggled into his arms, her hands absently playing with the edge of his robes. "You're just like my Dream Daddy."

"Dream Daddy?" he asked her, kissing the top of her head and breathing in her little girl scent. Oh how he had missed her.

She nodded. "I used to dream about a daddy all the time. And you do things just like him. You hug me and kiss me and let me sit on your lap and give me my favorite biscuits and rock me to sleep…are you going to sing to me too? 'Cause my Dream Daddy always does."

He couldn't help but smile at her. "Alright. I'll sing to you too. What does the Dream Daddy sing to you?"

"I can't ever hear the words but it goes like this," she told him and then started humming a little lullaby.

He kissed the top of her head once more, holding her closer. The song she was humming was the very song he had used to sing her to sleep as a baby. "I…I know that song…"

She looked up at him. "Good! I like it when the Dream Daddy sings it to me."

"I used to sing that to you as a baby, Precious."

"Sing it now," she said, snuggling even closer into his chest.

He stared down at her for a moment before singing softly. "Peace, my child, and sleep attend you…"

--

Once he had tucked Katie Beth into her bed, Severus went back to the room that Harry and Draco now shared a bottle of potion in his pocket. He sat on the edge of Draco's bed and handed the young man the potion that would help him sleep.

"She looks like you," Draco whispered as he settled back against his pillows, not ready to go back to sleep just yet.

"I wanted to talk to the two of you," Severus told them.

Harry set aside the book that he had been reading. "What is it, Uncle Sev?"

"Because she's a Squib, Camille has lived in the Muggle world for many years. But now I'm going to bring them both into the wizarding world and it's far past time to name a godparent for Katie Beth. We should have done that when she was born, but I never really thought about what would happen to her if something were to happen to Camille. And after the incident with Nagini…well…I'd like you both to be her godfathers. Harry, I know that you already have one godchild that you are helping care for, so I'll understand if you don't feel that you can be Katie Beth's godfather too…"

"I'd be honored," he said, interrupting the Potions Master.

"Are you sure, Harry?"

"Of course I am. She's a cute kid."

"Thank you Harry," he said, before turning to look at Draco. "Dragon?"

"I'm honored too, Uncle Sev. Thanks."

He nodded. "I'm quite proud of both of you. You've grown into fine young men."

--

Lucius walked into the library where Harry was reading a letter that had just come from Ginny. "Harry…I'd like to show you something."

"Yes sir?" Harry asked, looking up from his letter.

"We'll be leaving in a couple days, as per our agreement, and I wanted to take you side-along now, so that you'll know where we are going. The house is not connected to the Floo Network, so we'll all have to Apparate, and we'll need your helping getting everyone out there."

Harry nodded and stood, walking over to his father, allowing the man to put his arm around him. A moment later they were standing on the well manicured lawn of an old country estate. The house looked to be a couple hundred years old, but had been kept in the best condition. Off in the distance he could see a small stable and just beyond that was a wooded area. There wasn't another house within sight. "It's quiet here. I think the perfect place for all of us to get away."

"The children loved being here," Lucius told him.

"Where are we exactly?"

"This is Potter House, Harry."

Harry's eyes grew wide as he looked at his father. "Potter House? You mean…"

Lucius nodded. "This house was built by a Potter and stayed in the Potter family until the death of James."

"But how…? Bill said that he couldn't find out who owned it…"

"With the help of my solicitors, I purchased the estate, passing it through several aliases and some of the businesses I own. I was trying for the records to get confused because I didn't want the property traced to the Malfoy name. I was actually just about to put it in the Malfoy name when Aurora was born and we needed a place to hide her from my fellow Death Eaters."

Harry turned to look at the house once more, not really sure how to express the thoughts running through his head.

"Harry…"

He glanced over at his father.

Lucius pulled a document from his pocket. "This is the deed to the house. I've signed it over to you."

"I…I don't know what to say," he said, taking the document.

"You don't have to say anything, Harry. You were the reason I bought it. I wanted to save it for you. It was part of your inheritance from James."

In a move that surprised them both, Harry turned and embraced his father. After a moment of hesitation, Lucius wrapped his arms around his son.


	22. Chapter 22

Harry followed his father as they walked around the side of the house and down a wide path toward the wooded area. Lucius had told him about a nice lake about half a mile away from the house. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his trousers as they walked at a leisurely pace, just enjoying the cool weather and gentle breeze in quiet companionship.

It was peaceful here and he could understand why his younger siblings talked about this place so much. It would have been a great place to grow up. There was a large garden behind the house and horses in the stables. Reg had once told him that there were both human servants and house elves here, but they had yet to see anyone else. Yes, his family would be quite comfortable here for as long as they needed to stay. Sev and his family, too.

"Sev's bringing Camille and Katie Beth, right?" Harry asked, breaking the silence.

"He knows that he's always welcome wherever we're staying, but you might want to make sure and extend an invitation to him since the house is yours now," Lucius replied.

Harry nodded. "Had he told you about Camille before?"

"Not until the morning we were arrested. He explained everything to me and I can understand why he did it. I'm a decent Occlumens, but I couldn't hope to stand up against the Dark Lord for long."

"What about me? And the younger ones? How did you manage to keep him from finding out about us?"

"It wasn't easy, Harry. But Cissy and I came up with a way to temporarily remove memories…and that's what we would do if we had enough warning. The times we didn't have any warning…well, we just got lucky."

Harry was quiet for a moment before speaking again. "What would you have done if he had found out about us?"

Lucius sighed. "I don't know, son. We had this house under Fidelius Charm, so I would hope that no one would have ever found out about this place. Only four people knew about it. I do have a Muggle solicitor that had a letter to be delivered to you in the event that all four of us had died. Thankfully that never happened. I don't what we would have done had he found out about you. I'm grateful that he never did. He most likely would have worked even harder to get to you and the body count would have been much worse."

"It was bad enough as it is…" Harry said quietly. They walked on in silence until they came to the lake. There was a small dock and boat house near where they stopped and in the middle of the lake was a small island that would be a perfect place for picnicking. Ginny would love it here. He would have to bring her here soon.

As if reading Harry's mind, Lucius spoke. "You ought to bring Miss Weasley out here sometime. It's a good place to do some courting. I used to bring Cissy out here all the time."

Harry turned to look at him. "You don't mind then? About Ginny, I mean…" This was something he had worried about because he knew that the Weasleys were considered blood traitors by many of the other old pureblood families.

"Harry, I honestly can't think of anyone better for you. She's quite a powerful witch and she's stood by you. If she makes you happy, then I'm happy. I only want what is best for you, son…always have."

"I know. And I'm seeing that more and more every day." He ran his fingers through his hair and stuck his hands in his pockets again, staring out over the lake. "For as long as I can remember I've wanted a family…the Weasleys have always treated me like I was one of them, but sometimes I felt like I was on the outside just looking in…like when I was little and used to watch the other families in my neighborhood. They tried and I do love them dearly, but they aren't really mine. I know that you are my father and I've accepted that, but it's still hard...this is the last family I ever expected. Well, maybe next to last," he said with a half-smile. "It's not the family I expected, but I've finally got a family and I'm not about to give it up. That's why I fought the Ministry so hard. They took Sirius from me. Remus too, really. I'm not going to let them take anyone else. I…I'm still trying to work through everything that happened between us, but I am trying."

He reached over and gave his son's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "We've come a long way, son, but take all the time you need. It's only been a few weeks. I'm actually surprised you accepted the others as quickly as you did."

Harry sighed. "Mother was fairly easy once I stopped pitying myself. And with her there wasn't really much to work through…just the fact that you two gave me away. I know you thought you were doing the right thing and that helped. That and the fact that she helped me during the battle. I remembered more of what happened in the Forest while she was there bending over me, telling Voldemort that I was dead. She…she squeezed my hand and touched my cheek like I've seen Mrs. Weasley do with her children sometimes. It just all made sense later…once I started to think about it.

"Draco…I think I accepted Draco from the moment you told me. I saw all of our squabbles over the years in a different light. I nearly killed him during our sixth year and then he helped me when Ron, Hermione and I were at the Manor…then during the Battle, he kept getting himself into trouble and I had to save his life several times. After the Battle he was just…there. He came to find me when I was hiding at the Quidditch pitch and brought me a glass of pumpkin juice…it was as if he knew that I needed it. We just…understood each other, I guess."

"And what about Sev?" Lucius asked. This was the longest conversation that he and Harry had ever had alone and he wanted to keep it going as long as he could.

Harry gave another half-smile. "I spent seven years thinking he hated me and thinking that I hated him as well. But when Dumbledore died, I felt betrayed…and it was more than just my knowing that he had been spying for the Order. I never could explain it. Then watching him face Voldemort and refusing to save himself in order to save me…and seeing his memories. By the time we found out that he was alive, I had already accepted him."

He sighed again. "With you…I'm still working on that. I've accepted that you are my father, but there is still so much…I know you were trying to protect me and the others, but it still…hurts, I guess."

"Harry…look at me," Lucius said softly and Harry met his eyes. "I cannot begin to tell you just how sorry I am for all that you went through at my hands and the hands of the other Death Eaters. I'm sorry that you had to spend so many years with those Muggle relatives of Lily's. I'm sorry that you had to deal with the Dark Lord…if only Sev and I had tried harder to get rid of him before…or if I had known what that diary really was…" Lucius paused and sighed. "I'd understand if you couldn't ever forgive me."

Harry looked down at his trainers. Could he forgive the man standing in front of him? Or perhaps he already had. "I've already forgiven you…Father. But I guess…I think I just have to learn to trust you."

"Thank you, son. I'll do whatever I can to earn your trust. And I'll support whatever decisions you make about your future. I know that you aren't happy with the Ministry right now."

Harry nodded. "I'm not. I had considered being an Auror, but now…well, I just don't know what I want to do. I've…I've thought about leaving the wizarding world. And I probably would if it weren't for Ginny."

"Do whatever makes you happy, Harry. If leaving the wizarding world will make you happy, then do it. If you want to attend a Muggle university or just travel around the world…or anything else that you want to do...just do whatever makes you happy. All your mother and I want is for our children to be happy and healthy."


	23. Chapter 23

As they walked back up to the house, Harry caught sight of a small animal with blue-tinted fur sitting on the path in front of them. He stared at the creature, trying to remember if it had been there when they walked down to the lake. "Look," he said, gesturing toward the animal that looked like a cross between a rabbit, rat and a squirrel. "What is that?"

Lucius moved slowly over to the animal so as not to frighten it and knelt down. "It's a chinchilla, Harry."

Harry knelt beside him, carefully reaching out to pet the little animal. "Is that a magical creature?" The little chinchilla sat still and Harry gently stroked it's fur.

"No. It's a non-magical creature, but I think this particular fur color is quite rare," he told his son. "Chinchilla fur is quite expensive and is used for fur coats. There must be a breeder nearby."

"That's just wrong," Harry replied. "Who could kill such a cute little thing just for it's fur?"

"It happens all the time. And not just with these little guys...fox, rabbits, mink, otter, sable..."

Harry gently lifted the little chinchilla, placing it on one hand and holding it close to his chest. "I think his foot is hurt."

"We'll take it back to Grimmauld Place and let Sev take a look at him." Together they stood and Apparated back to Grimmauld Place.

Severus was just coming up from the kitchen and the small storage room where he had set up a lab. "There you are Harry. Draco was asking for you earlier."

"I'll go up in a minute," he replied, walking over to his godfather, the chinchilla still held against his chest. "We found this little guy out at Potter House and I think he's hurt."

The Potions Master reached out and stroked the chinchilla behind the ears. "Let me take these potions up to Draco and then I'll look at him. Come rescue him from Katie Beth and Lily. When I left the little pixies were trying to convince him to read to them."

Shaking his head, Harry slipped the chinchilla into the large pocket of his robe and headed up the stairs, calling out for his little sister and his goddaughter. He found them in the room that he was sharing with Draco, curled up on either side of Draco as the blond read to them. Harry and Severus stood in the doorway, watching and listening as Draco read, stumbling over the simple words that should have been quite easy for him to read. His hands were shaking quite badly and his brow was covered in sweat. Neither girl seemed to notice how much he was stuggling.

Severus stepped around Harry and over to the bed. "Come on girls. Draco needs to take his potions, so why don't you two go find Aurora and get her to read to you."

"Do we have to?" Lily asked, looking up at him with big, blue eyes.

"Yes," he replied, picking her up and setting her on the floor. "Draco's sick and he needs rest so that he can get better. Once he's better, then he can read to you."

Lily sighed dramatically and took Katie Beth's hand. "Come on, Katie Beth...let's go find Rory." Together the two little girls left the room, closing the door behind them.

Harry walked over and sat on Draco's bed, being careful of the little animal in his pocket. "Sev said that you were looking for me."

"It wasn't important...I just needed someone to talk to," Draco replied, taking the potions that Severus gave him and settling back on his pillows.

"What happened?"

Draco sighed. "I had...some sort of...flashback I guess. To sixth year...in Myrtle's bathroom. Reg was here and I had a bit of a panic attack. I think I scared the poor little guy."

Harry nodded. "I'll go talk to him in a few minutes," he said, pulling the chinchilla from his pocket an handing him to Sev. He looked back at his brother. "Father took me out to Potter House. We'll be going out there next week for the rest of the summer."

"I enjoyed spending summers out there. Is that were you got that thing?" Draco asked.

"We found him just before he left. I think something is wrong with one of his legs."

"It's broken," Sev told him. "We can fix him up, though. I assume you want to keep him."

Harry glanced at his brother. "Actually, I was thinking that Draco might like to keep him."

Draco blinked in surprise and stared at Harry. "Me? Why me?"

"I just thought maybe you could use a little familiar after what happened in Azkaban. Besides, he's kinda cute."

He sighed and held his hand out. "Let me see him..."

Severus rolled his eyes, but gave the chinchilla to his godson, being careful of the broken leg. "Just watch his leg..." Once the young man had the animal cradled in his hands, he nodded. "Alright. I'm going to go get a couple things I need to heal that leg. I'll be right back." He turned and left the two alone.

Harry looked at his brother again. "What's wrong?"

"When I came out of that flashback...my chest hurt, like it did that day after you used that curse on my...and I kinda lost it." Draco gently stroked the chinchilla's soft fur and the little animal purred softly. "I'm not going crazy...am I?"

"No," Harry told him quickly. "You aren't going crazy. I just think...well, I think your time in Azkaban has brought back some memories and that's all it is."

"I...I'm really scared, Harry."

"You'll be fine, brother. We're all here for you, Draco, and we'll do whatever it takes to help you feel better."

"What if I hurt Reg or one of the girls? I...I knocked Reg off the bed earlier."

Harry reached out and gave his brother's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I'll stay with you as much as I can to make sure you don't, alright?"

Draco nodded and looked down at the little chinchilla in his hands. "Thanks for him, Harry...I...I've never had a familiar before."

"What are you going to name him?" Harry asked.

The blond fell silent as he considered the question for a few moments. "I'm going to call him Daedalus..."

"Where did you come up with that?" Harry questioned as Severus came into the room and started to heal the little blue animal.

"It's from Greek mythology," Draco explained. "Daedalus built wings so that he and his son could fly off the island of Crete where they were being held captive. The name means cunning."

"Which every child of Slytherin is," Harry laughed.


	24. Chapter 24

"It's from Greek mythology," Draco explained. "Daedalus built wings so that he and his son could fly off the island of Crete where they were being held captive. The name means cunning."

"Which every child of Slytherin is," Harry laughed.

Severus rolled his eyes. "Harry take…Daedalus…and let me show you a few basic healing spells. Merlin knows that you need them." Harry made a face at his godfather, but took the chinchilla from his brother, after promising to give him right back. Severus showed him a simple diagnostic spell that was often used in emergency and battle situations.

Harry listened carefully and then repeated the incantation. "He's just got a broken foot."

"That's quite simple to fix. The incantation is _epsikey._" Once again Harry repeated the incantation. "Alright…now wrap his foot carefully. Tight, but not too tight."

Harry took the tiniest bandages that he had ever seen and carefully wrapped the little chinchilla's foot. "Like this?"

Severus took a look at the bandage. "Very good, Harry."

"Thanks," he said with a grin. "Here you go, Dragon." He handed the little animal back to his brother.

"Thanks, Harry," Draco replied. He cuddled the chinchilla close.

Severus sat on the other side of Draco's bed. "I wanted to let you two know that I am stepping down as Headmaster of Hogwarts. Minerva is going to be Headmistress and I'll be Deputy Headmaster. I didn't really want to be Headmaster in the first place, but did it in order to keep it away from the Carrows and to protect the students as best I could while still maintaining my role."

"What are you going to teach?" Harry asked. "Potions or Defense?"

"Both," he replied. "I'll be teaching N.E.W.T. level Potions and Defense. Minerva plans to hire two new professors to teach the lower levels. She'll also be filling the Muggle Studies and Transfiguration positions."

Draco looked up at his godfather. "Are you still going to be Head of Slytherin?"

"Yes. I will. But I will leave after my last class on Friday and will return on Monday morning in time for my first class. I want to spend as much time as I can with Camille and Katie Beth."

"What about the snakes?" Draco asked. "What are you going to do about them on the weekends?"

"That's where you two come in. All of the seventh year students are being invited to come back and repeat the year. However, Minerva and I think that only a handful will actually accept. Miss Granger had already contacted us about coming back and that is what gave us the idea.

"We really didn't want to put those who are repeating their seventh years in with the new seventh years. So Miss Granger will have her own room off of the Gryffindor common room and will be acting as a deputy head of house. Draco, you will be doing the same for Slytherin. And Harry, if you are agreeable, I'd like you to share the role with Draco."

"Harry's not a Slytherin," Draco reminded the man.

"The Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin," Harry told his brother with a shrug.

Draco turned to look at his brother. "What? Why didn't it?"

"I convinced it not to," his twin replied.

"Why would you do a thing like that?"

"Because I had met you."

Draco blinked. "Oh. I was a bit of a brat, wasn't I?"

"Only a bit?" Harry teased. Draco stuck his tongue out at his brother and they both laughed. "Uncle Sev, it's really fine for you to just give the job to Draco, though. He was a prefect after all."

"It's not that I don't trust Draco," Severus responded, having watched the boys' exchange in amusement, "or think that he can't handle the job, but I think it will take some time to recover from your time in Azkaban and I don't want to put a strain on you."

Draco sighed deeply. "I can't even manage to read a simple story without falling apart and I've scared Reg half to death. It would probably be best just to go ahead and give the job to Harry."

"I disagree," Severus responded. "I think it will give you a reason recover, but without putting a time frame on it."

"Just think, Draco," Harry said. "We'll be there with Aurora and can keep an eye on her."

"Now that's not such a bad idea," Draco replied thoughtfully.

Severus rolled his eyes. "Get some rest, Draco."

"Yes sir," the blond replied, turning to his twin. "Are you going to go talk to Reg?"

Harry nodded and stood. "I'll go now," he said, heading toward the door. He walked down the hall to Sirius' old room and knocked on the door, pushing it open. Reg was inside, sitting on the window seat and hugging his knees, his little face tear-stained. "Hey there…"

Reg looked over at him and wiped his nose on his sleeve with a sniffle. "Hey Harry."

"Draco told me he knocked you off the bed," Harry said, sitting across from the boy.

Reg nodded. "It was really scary. He was screaming and yelling and kicking and saying he was bleeding, but there wasn't any blood…and that's when he knocked me off the bed. I think…Harry, I think he went crazy in Az'aban like Aunt Bella. "

"No, Reg. He isn't crazy like Aunt Bella." It pained him to refer to her that way, but he did it for Reg's sake. "And you really need to stop eavesdropping on Mother and Father's conversations."

"But Harry…"

Harry sighed. "Reg! If I find out that you've been eavesdropping I'll…I'll…" he paused, trying to come up with a good enough threat. "I'll tell Uncle Sev." Reg face paled and his eyes grew wide. "If Mother and Father have something to tell you they will tell you, you don't need to listen to their conversations. Because sometimes you will learn things you don't need to know about…like about Aunt Bella."

"Why don't I need to know about Aunt Bella?"

"Aunt Bella did a lot of bad things, Reg. And that's why she was in Azkaban. Yes, she did go crazy in Azkaban, but that was because of the Dementors mostly. But I think she was already a little crazy before that. She was a Death Eater, Reg. That's one of those bad wizards that you and the girls had to hide from. She killed a lot of people."

"Like who?" the boy asked innocently.

Harry looked out the window. "I inherited this house from Sirius Black. He was Mother's cousin…and one of my godfathers. She killed him two years ago. She killed Teddy's mother too. She was a good friend of mine."

"Oh." He was quiet for a moment. "Did Draco go crazy in Az'aban too?"

"No!" Harry snapped at the boy and then sighed. "I'm sorry, Reg. He's not crazy. Draco's just…sick. But we're going to help him get better, alright?"

Reg slowly nodded.

"Sometimes he remembers things that happened and it's…it's like a nightmare. Like he's really there and it's happening again. What he remembered today was when I hurt him really bad during our sixth year. I told you about that, remember?"

He nodded again. "You told me when we went to buy our brooms."

"That's right. That's what he remembered today. And when that happened, he did bleed a lot." He motioned for the boy to come closer and Reg crawled over and sat on his lap, resting his head against his brother's chest. Harry wrapped an arm around the boy. "Next time you see something like that happen to Draco, you need to get an adult as quick as you can, alright?"

"As quick as a snitch?"

Harry smiled. "Yes. As quick as a snitch. Can you do that?"

Reg nodded eagerly. "I can! I want to help Draco get better."

"Alright. I'm counting on you then."

"Tell me a story," Reg said, snuggling closer to his brother.

"A story?" Harry asked. "What kind of story?"

"A story about Hogwarts."

Harry smiled. "A story about Hogwarts? Well, let's see…have I told you about the time that I hexed Uncle Sev?"

Reg looked up at him, eyes wide. "You hexed Uncle Sev?"

"I did. But this story started long before that. It started on the night that Voldemort killed James and Lily Potter…"


	25. Chapter 25

Harry was sitting in Teddy's room, rocking his sleeping godson. He had offered to put the infant down for a nap, but now he just didn't want to put the boy down. Teddy looked like both Remus and Tonks and his presence was helping to ease the loss of his friends. He couldn't wait until Teddy was old enough to start understanding the stories that Harry often told him when he rocked the baby. "I'll never let you end up somewhere like the Dursleys, little man," he told the sleeping baby. "And if something happens to me, you'll have a big family that will take care of you. You'll never be unloved, Teddy."

There was a soft knock on the door and Harry turned to see Severus standing in the doorway. "You were never unloved Harry."

The younger man nodded. "I know that now, but before Hogwarts..."

"I wish we could have told you before..."

"I understand, sir. I really do."

Severus nodded. "Camille and I are going to take Aurora to Diagon Alley. Since she doesn't care about flying I told her that I would buy her an owl when she got ready to start Hogwarts. We decided to get all of her shopping done now. Would you like to come with us?"

"Sure," Harry said, standing and carefully tucking Teddy into his bed. "I should probably get a few things if I'm going to go back this year."

"You'll need dress robes too. We are planning another ball at Christmas."

He turned to look at his godfather. "They aren't planning another Tri-Wizard Tournament are they?"

"Not to my knowledge. If I had my way, they'd never do that again."

"Good," Harry replied with a nod. "Mother replaced my dress robes when she bought all those other clothes a few weeks ago, but I have considered getting another owl and I do need some parchment and other things. And I should go get my trunk from the Weasleys."

"Come with us to Diagon Alley and then you can go to the Weasleys."

Harry nodded. "Are you taking Katie Beth as well?"

"Yes. She's never been and she'll enjoy it."

Half an hour later the small group Flooed into the Leaky Cauldron and made their way through the passage into Diagon Alley. They stopped first at Madam Malkin's where both Harry and Aurora were measured for new school robes. Harry hadn't thought about returning to Hogwarts and he wasn't really sure what had happened to his old ones, though he supposed that they might not fit any longer as he had grown a couple inches since the beginning of his sixth year.

"If I'm going to be staying in Slytherin, will I be wearing a Slytherin patch?" Harry asked Severus.

Severus lifted his daughter, who was getting antsy, onto his hip. "I hadn't really considered it. My suggestion would be to wear both patches. You are still Gryffindor, but you are being...adopted...by the Slytherins."

"Adopted by the Slytherins. I like that idea," Harry replied. "I guess the Hat knew what it was doing when it wanted to put me there in the first place."

"Had you been Sorted into my House, things would have been much different. I would have been able to protect you much better than I did and I could have been more open about it."

Harry sighed. "It's alright, Uncle Sev. What happened, happened. We can't go back and change it, no matter how hard we wish. You did the best that you could."

Once finished at Madam Malkin's, they bought Aurora's cauldron and potions kit and then decided to break for lunch. Harry looked over at Severus and Camille. Severus was looking into Camille's eyes as if the two of them were communicating in a way that only the two of them understood. "I'll take the girls to get something to eat and then we'll go see George and Ron. You two can go have lunch by yourselves."

Severus turned to look at him. "Harry..."

"We insist," Harry responded, lifting his goddaughter onto his hip. "Don't we Katie-bug?"

The tiny raven-haired girl nodded. "We want to go with Uncle Harry."

Severus shook his head. "Alright. We'll meet the three of you at Eyelops at one."

Harry nodded and headed to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch. After eating, he took them to Weasley Wizarding Wheezes and they were greeted by Harry's old Gryffindor team mate, Angelina Johnson. Harry knew that she had dated Fred at some point toward the end of their time at Hogwarts.

The young woman pulled him into a tight hug. "Harry, it's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Angelina. What are you doing here?" he asked her.

"I needed something to do to keep busy," she said sadly. "So I offered my help to George and Ron. I've been helping Ron mind the shop while George does some inventing, though occasionally George lets me help in his lab."

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Who do you have with you?" she asked, changing the subject.

Harry looked down at Aurora, with the dark hair and gray eyes of the Black side of the family, and smiled at his sister. He hadn't considered it before, but he was glad that he wasn't the only one that didn't have the typical Malfoy blond hair. "Did you read the _Prophet?" _He asked her. When Angelina nodded, he continued. "The older one here is my little sister Aurora Malfoy. And this other little angel," he said, lifting Katie Beth into his arms again. "Is Katie Beth Tyler and she's Professor Snape's daughter."

"Snape has a daughter?" Angelina asked, her eyes wide.

"He hid his wife and daughter to protect them because of his spying," Harry told her, as Katie Beth rested her head against his shoulder. He kissed her forehead. "Girls, this is Angelina, one of my friends from Hogwarts. We played Quidditch together."

"It's nice to meet you," Aurora said politely while Katie Beth just smiled shyly.

Angelina smiled. "It's nice to meet you both." She held out a little pink Pygmy Puff to Katie Beth.

"Can I, Uncle Harry?" the little girl asked, looking up at her godfather.

"You may. My friend Ginny has one that she named Arnold," he told her.

Katie Beth took the little Pygmy Puff and cuddled it close. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Angelina replied before addressing Harry again. "George is upstairs. You can go on up."

He nodded and put Katie Beth down. "Can they stay down here with you?"

"Of course. I'll show Aurora the Skiving Snackboxes. She looks to be about Hogwarts age."

"I start this fall," Aurora told her.

As soon as Angelina had them occupied, Harry slipped upstairs to see George. He found his old friend just sitting at one of the worktables that they had set up. "Hey George," he said, sitting across the table .

"Heya Harry," George replied.

"How are you doing?"

George sighed. "If Ron and Angelina hadn't offered to help, I wouldn't have even opened back up. I'm not sure that I can do this without him. It's like...it's like part of me is missing, Harry."

"The two of you have done everything together. All of your memories involve him."

George nodded and stared at him for a moment. "How are the Malfoys treating you?" he asked, changing the subject.

"It was rough at first," Harry told his old friend. "But it's getting better. I'm actually enjoying being an older brother. And Draco and I...understand each other, I guess. Sometimes we don't even need words to understand what the other is thinking. Snape's not as bad as everyone thinks. Narcissa...well, she tends to smother a bit...almost as bad as your mum."

At that George smiled a bit. "What about Lucius? How are you getting on with him?"

"Better every day. There are a lot of things that we have to work through. But...after James and Lily died, James' ancestral home was sold. Lucius bought it to save it for me. He gave me the deed the other day. I'm still not really sure what to think."

"You look happy."

"I am, George...I finally have a family. But even though I've been restored to my rightful family, I will always consider your family as my first real family. Your family has been there for me since that first day in King's Cross. And I'm grateful."

"We Weasleys boys talked it over a long time ago and decided that you were one of us. That's the reason we came to get you in Dad's flying car. After that Mum and Dad talked to Dumbledore about making you part of the family officially, but he wouldn't go for it. But we decided that a bunch of papers did matter. You were a Weasley and Weasleys stick together...well, except for Percy, but the way some of us figure it, he was left out in the garden and Mum and Dad took pity on him."

Harry couldn't help but laugh and after a moment, George joined him. The younger man smiled, glad to hear his friend...his brother...laughing again.


	26. Chapter 26

**AN: ****Some of you like my OCs. Some of you hate them. Either way they stay where they are since I'm the one writing the story. If you don't like them, don't read. It's no skin off my nose.**

As it neared the appointed time to meet back up with Severus and Camille, Harry headed back downstairs to collect the girls. He bumped into Ron on the stairs. "Hello Ron."

The youngest Weasley male stopped and looked at his old friend. "Harry."

"You aren't still upset about me being a Malfoy, are you?"

"Maybe I am," Ron said, somewhat coldly.

Harry sighed. "You can be upset if you want, Ron. But I finally have a family..."

"What about us, Harry? We treated you like you were part of our family."

"And you still are!"

"Then why do you need them?"

"What is so wrong with me wanting a family of my own?" Harry asked, beginning to lose his patience.

"Nothing. As long as it's not the Malfoys," Ron replied.

Harry glared at his friend. "I am a Malfoy, Ron, whether you like it or not. You know what it was like for me...you should be happy that I finally got a family like I always wanted. I'm happy, mate."

Ron started to say something else, but was stopped when Katie Beth ran up the stairs to Harry, wrapping her arms around his leg. The little pygmy puff that Angelina had given her was perched on her shoulder. "Uncle Harry?" Ron nearly choked when he heard what Katie Beth called him.

Harry gave Ron a look, wondering what the boy would think when he found out that Katie Beth was Snape's daughter. He lifted his goddaughter into his arms. "Yes, Katie-bug?"

"Is it time to go meet Mummy and Daddy?"

"Yes," he said with a nod, stepping around Ron and heading down the stairs.

"Who is she?" he heard Ron ask.

Harry turned back around. "Katie Beth Tyler...my goddaughter."

"I didn't know you had a goddaughter."

"You would know if you hadn't been such a prat," Harry snapped, heading back into the shop to collect Aurora so that they could meet Severus and Camille.

--

Severus had taken Camille to a small restuarant in Muggle London near the Leaky Cauldron. They had had a nice lunch, with Severus telling her stories of their time together before Voldemort's return and Camille telling him stories about their daughter. It was a comfortable and familiar habit they had fallen into any time they were alone together. There was so much time to make up for.

"Is there any way to get my memories back?" Camille asked him as they walked back to the Leaky Cauldron.

"The only time I've heard of someone getting their _Obliviated _memories back is under torture," he answered somewhat sadly. When he had used the memory charm on her, he hadn't really stopped to think about the possibility of wanting to return her memories to her. Looking back, he realized that he had almost been expecting to die during the war.

"Severus..." when he didn't respond, Camille took his arm. "Sev," she whispered.

Sighing deeply, he looked down at her. "I'm sorry, Camille. I should have thought things through better before I removed your memories."

She shook her head. "It had to be done quickly and you did what you thought was best to protect me and our daughter. I don't blame you, Sev."

He reached out and caressed her cheek, before leaning down and placing a kiss on her brow. "I will not rest until I have found a way to restore your memories to you."

"Do you have any ideas?" she asked as they continued on to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Well, there are Memory Restorative Potions that have some success with accidental memory loss...usually with Muggle-born children who have to learn to control their accidental magic. I could brew one for you to see if it would work." Camille slipped her hand into his as they walked. "I considered letting you see my pensieved memories, but I would really rather you have your own memories returned to you, instead of you just seeing my version of events."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out...and if not, we can make new memories together."

--

Harry stopped as he led the girls past the store that had once been Ollivander's Wand Shop. Shifting Katie Beth onto his hip again, Harry walked up the three steps and noticed Mr. Ollivander inside. It looked like he was attempting to sort through the bits and pieces of wands that were left over after the Death Eaters had kidnapped him two years before. He knocked on the open door.

Ollivander looked up from where he was working. "Hello, my boy," he said with a smile. "Do come in."

"Hello, Mr. Ollivander," Harry replied, coming into the shop with the girls. "You are looking well."

"Thank you. I have had plenty of time to recover since you last saw me."

Harry put Katie Beth down with a warning not to touch anything. "Are you going to reopen? My sister, and a great many other students, will be starting Hogwarts in the fall and will need wands."

"I'm still considering the matter, Harry." Ollivander looked over at Aurora. "So far I've only found one wand that was not destroyed. Would you care to try it out, young lady?"

"Could I?" Aurora asked, her eyes lighting up.

"Of course, my dear," he said, handing the wand to her.

She gingerly took the wand and felt it warm in her hand. Smiling, she waved the wand and blue sparks shot out of the end.

"I believe that the wand has found it's owner," Ollivander said. "And that is a very special wand indeed, my dear, for it is a combination of your brothers' wands."

"It is?"

He nodded. "Harry's wand is eleven inches long, made of holly wood with a phoenix feather core. Draco's is a ten inch long hawthorn wand with a unicorn hair core."

Harry looked down at his sister. "Mr. Ollivander told me that the phoenix that supplied the feather for my wand gave only one other feather, so your wand has a unicorn hair core and is made of holly."

"You are correct, my boy," the old man told them.

"How much do we owe you?" Harry asked.

Ollivander held up his hands. "You don't owe me anything, Harry. You saved my life and as you already have a wand, consider it a gift."

"Oh, thank you," Aurora cried, giving the old man a hug.

**AN - #2: It's my birthday...reviews will be accepted in exchange for birthday presents. ;)**


	27. Chapter 27

"Hey there, Precious," Severus said, sweeping his bouncing daughter up into his arms. "Were you good for Harry?"

"Yeah," she replied with a smile, pulling her little pink pygmy puff from the pocket of her little robes. "Look what I got."

He looked over at Harry, who held up his hands. "I'm innocent. Angelina gave it to her."

"Daddy," Katie said, tugging on Severus's robes to get his attention.

"Yes baby?" he asked.

"Rory's got a wand," she told him. "Mr. Ollie gave it to her."

Aurora pulled her new wand from her pocket and showed it to her godfather. "The wood is the same as Harry's and the core is the same as Draco's. Mr. Ollivander said that it was a gift because Harry saved his life."

Katie nodded. "Mr. Ollie's store was really messed up...and Harry's going to give him money to help him clean it up."

Harry's eyes grew wide as he looked at his goddaughter. "How did you know I was thinking about doing that, Katie-bug?"

"I just know," she told him with a shrug. "Like I knew my Daddy was my Daddy." She rested her head on her daddy's shoulder, snuggling into his arms.

Severus looked at Harry. "You were considering this?"

"Yes," Harry replied with a nod. "I was thinking about it as we walked over here. There is a whole new crop of kids ready to start at Hogwarts and they'll need wands. And there is no one better that Mr. Ollivander. He's shop has been closed for nearly two years, so he'll need some help getting up and running again."

"I'm sure he'll appreciate the help, Harry."

--

Draco sat up straight, sweat covering his brow as he struggled to slow his breathing. On the nights that he didn't take the Dreamless Sleep the nightmares were awful…nightmares of the things he had been forced to do in the last two years. Before his time in Azkaban, he had never bad any nightmares, even as a child.

Sighing, he got out of his bed and shakily made his way over to the cage that his parents had gotten for his chinchilla. "Hey boy," he whispered, not wanting to wake his brother. He gently took his new pet out of the cage and headed downstairs to the drawing room. "Kreacher," he called softly, settling in one of the armchairs in front of the hearth.

The ancient house elf appeared. "Yes Master Draco?"

"Light a fire and bring me a glass of firewhiskey."

Kreacher snapped his fingers and a fore roared to life. "Master Draco can not have any firewhiskey."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Master Malfoy and Mistress Malfoy would not like it."

"I'm of age, Kreacher. Please bring me something strong to drink."

"Kreacher will do it, but Kreacher thinks that Master Draco should stick to hot chocolate."

"Just go…" he ordered, tossing one leg over the arm of the chair. Kreacher disappeared and a moment later a glass of firewhiskey appeared on the small table by his elbow. Draco settled Daedalus on his chest, gently stroking the blue fur with one hand while reaching for the glass of firewhiskey with the other. He sat there nursing the firewhiskey and staring into the fire, trying not to think about the nightmare he had had tonight…about the Muggle Studies Professor who had been murdered before his eyes.

_He wasn't really sure when he closed his eyes, but when he opened them he found himself standing on a path in a forest. A slight breeze rustled the leaves and the birds chirped in the trees. Seeing a house off in the distance, he headed toward it hoping to figure out where he was._

_As he neared the house, he recognized it. It was Potter House, where his younger siblings had lived and he had spent his summers for the last eleven years. Draco stopped when he noticed another person on the path ahead of him. The young man looked to be about his age and was somewhat familiar. After a few moments she realized that he looked like Harry, yet he knew that this wasn't his brother though the resemblance was striking._

_Draco watched as the young man reached into his robes and pulled out a small, furry animal with familiar bluish skin. He smiled. Daedalus._

_The young man placed the animal on the path and then stood. He looked at Draco and smiled, nodding in acknowledgement, before turning and heading back toward the house. A couple stood there waiting on him and Draco easily recognized them from a photograph Harry kept beside his bed: James and Lily Potter. This must be their son whose place Harry had taken._

"_They've been watching out for your family for years," a voice said beside him._

_Draco turned to see another familiar face. Regulus Black, the man who his brother was named for and his mother's cousin, was standing there watching the three Potters interact just ahead. They watched as James put one arm around his son's shoulders and the other around his wife's waist as they walked back toward the house. "Why?"_

"_Your parents gave them Harry."_

_An arm rested on Draco's shoulder and he turned to see Sirius Black standing there. "Between you and Harry, they had their work cut out for them, little cousin."_

"_We weren't that bad..."_

"_Bad enough," Regulus told him._

_Draco rolled his eyes. "Why did he leave Daedalus there for Father and Harry to find?"_

"_Sam stayed with you in Azkaban. He thought it might help comfort you when the memories got too bad."_

"_Sam?" he asked._

_Regulus turned to face them. "Since Harry took the name that James and Lily intended for their son, they decided to call their son by the name that your parents gave Harry. Only James didn't much care for the name Scorpius, said that it was a little much for a baby, so he started calling him Sam...Scorpius Abraxas Malfoy."_

"_Harry didn't really care for the name either. Said he'd rather keep Harry," Draco told them._

"_Can you blame him?" Sirius asked with a laugh._


	28. Chapter 28

_Regulus turned to face them. "Since Harry took the name that James and Lily intended for their son, they decided to call their son by the name that your parents gave Harry. Only James didn't much care for the name Scorpius, said that it was a little much for a baby, so he started calling him Sam...Scorpius Abraxas Malfoy."_

"_Harry didn't really care for the name either. Said he'd rather keep Harry," Draco told them._

"_Can you blame him?" Sirius asked with a laugh._

_Draco shrugged. "I don't know. I kinda like the name. Harry said that I should name my firstborn Scorpius."_

"_It's a name worthy of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black," Regulus chuckled._

_Draco looked back at the Potter family. "So he stayed with me in Azkaban?"_

"_It would have been worse if he hadn't been there," Sirius told him. "Much worse. Trust me."_

_The blond nodded, wrapping his arms around himself. "'Twas bad enough," he whispered._

_Regulus put his arm around the younger Slytherin. "It's going to be fine, little cousin. We're going to be here with you."_

_Something about the man reminded him of his godfather and he rested his head on the man's chest, allowing the comfort for a moment before pulling back and nodding. "I...umm...Thanks."_

"_You're welcome, Draco."_

Draco woke up when he felt someone shaking his shoulder and calling his name. He opened his eyes and blinked, finding himself back in the drawing room with his father and godfather standing over him. "Morning..."

"What is the meaning of this?" Lucius demanded, holding the now empty glass in front of his son's face.

He stretched and sat up, cradling his chinchilla in one hand. "Firewhiskey..."

"I can see that!" the older man snapped. "I want to know what you are doing with it!"

"I was drinking it, Father."

Lucius smacked the back of his head. "You may be of age, but you are still my son."

Draco rubbed his head. "Watch it..."

"We can see that you were drinking it, Dragon." Severus put his hand on his friend's shoulder to keep him from striking out again. "We just want to know why."

The young man sighed deeply. "I had a...a nightmare...and I needed something."

Severus summoned a footstool and sat in front of his godson. "A nightmare?" Leaning against the back of his chair, Draco nodded.

Silently, Lucius stepped back, sinking into a nearby chair as he watched his best friend convince his son to open up and talk. He had known for quite a while that the two had a special bond. Though he hated to admit it, even to himself, he had rarely had time for the boy when he was young and Draco had often turned to his godfather. As the head of a large business empire and a power political family, he had been a busy man. Now he was beginning to wish that he had taken time with Draco when he was young like he did now with his three youngest. While the younger ones had been in hiding, he and Cissy had made a point of going to see them every other weekend. Neither one had realized until recently that unless Draco was in trouble for one reason or another, they had rarely spent time with their oldest son and heir. Was there any way to form that bond with his son now? With Harry as well?

"Tell me, Dragon," Severus said gently.

Draco sighed deeply, gently stroking his chinchilla's fur. It was an action that soothed him. "Professor Burbage," he whispered, opening his eyes to look at his godfather.

"You could have come to me, Draco. How many times have I told you that?"

"It's not the same, Sev."

"What's not the same?"

He looked down at his pet as he continued to stroke the soft fur. "Now that you have Camille and Katie..."

"Draco, look at me." When the blond met his eyes, he continued. "Do you remember what I told you after Aurora was born?"

Draco nodded. "That nothing would ever change things between us...and that I didn't need to be jealous because love multiplies, it doesn't divide."

"That's right." He stood and held his hand out to the younger man. "You are going back to bed. You look like hell."

"Thanks..." the boy muttered, but he allowed his godfather to pull him from the chair and lead him upstairs. He knew his family was worried about him because he was having a hard time recovering from Azkaban. Why that place hadn't affected his father or godfather the way it did him, he didn't know, but he was tired of feeling so weak and tired all the time.

_When Draco opened his eyes this time he found himself back in his cell from Azkaban. He scrambled to his feet as his pulse began to race. A hand on his shoulder startled him and he turned to see Regulus Black standing beside him once more._

_"It's only a dream," the man told him. "They can't affect you now. Take a couple deep breaths and turn around."_

_Closing his eyes, Draco took a couple deep breaths, trying to calm himself. After a moment he opened his eyes and turned around. There in the corner was the hard cot where he had slept during his stay and to his surpise he saw himself sitting there, hugging his knees as he had during his stay in the wizard prison. He looked up at Regulus. "How?"_

_"This is different from the dream you had before. This time you are seeing your own memory as if through a pensieve."_

_Draco nodded and looked back at the cot. Moments later he realized that he wasn't sitting on the cot alone. As he had been told in his last dream, Sam was sitting there in the place that Harry had always sat when he visited: facing Draco, his hand clasped about his wrist. When he had been there he had been sure that he had felt Harry's presence, even when Harry wasn't there. Now he knew why. It hadn't been Harry, but Sam._

_His hand still on Draco's shoulder, Regulus explained. "Do you remember how Harry reacted to the Dementors during your third year?" Draco nodded. "Had Sam not been there, acting as a buffer of sorts...almost like a Patronus, then your reaction would have been the same. You probably would not have survived."_


	29. Chapter 29

_His hand still on Draco's shoulder, Regulus explained. "Do you remember how Harry reacted to the Dementors during your third year?" Draco nodded. "Had Sam not been there, acting as a buffer of sorts...almost like a Patronus, then your reaction would have been the same. You probably would not have survived."_

"_Not survived? Dead?" Draco asked._

_Regulus nodded. "Dementors feed off of your happy memories and leave your worst memories at the forefront of your mind. Your godfather somehow used Occlumency to block the Dementors. I'm not sure that has ever happened before, but then I don't think anyone has managed quite the level of mastery over the subject that he has."_

"_What about Father?"_

"_As soon as he could feel the Dementors leave, he would start thinking about his children. That would bring his mind back into focus. Those who are strong enough find ways to fight the madness."_

"_I wasn't strong enough?"_

"_With the memories of the last two years fresh in your mind, you were already suffering when you entered. You didn't even consider fighting. Those who don't fight give up. They stop eating. They stop sleeping. And your body can only handle that for so long."_

_Draco nodded, unable to tear his eyes away from the image of himself across the room._

_~*~_

Harry woke when he heard a noise at the door. He had just managed to reach for his glasses when something heavy landed on top of him. Shoving his glasses on, he found Aurora sitting on him. "There are other ways to wake people up, Rory," he told her.

"I got my letter!" she said proudly, pushing the letter in his face.

He took the letter and held it back so that he could read it. Aurora had gotten her Hogwarts letter. "You doubted that you would get your letter?"

"Well...I wasn't really sure that they would really open the school this year," she replied.

"Yes, they are still having school. No, Uncle Sev is not going to be Headmaster, he'll be the Deputy Headmaster. McGonagall will be the Headmistress. Yes, Uncle Sev will still be Head of Slytherin," he said with a smile, anticipating her questions.

She made a face at him.

"So...why did you decide to come jump on me this morning, hmm?"

Aurora giggled. "Mum said that when Draco got his letter he was so excited that he came and woke them up by jumping on their bed. She said that it was the only time that he ever did anything like that before. Uncle Sev told me that I should wake him up the same way to return the favor."

"I bet he did," Harry said with a bit of a laugh. "Why did you jump on me instead of him."

"Because it's late, silly. And I wanted to wake you up too."

"Thanks. Now go tackle that brother of ours," he replied nodding his head toward Draco's bed where all that could be seen was the young man's blond hair.

Grinning, Aurora slid from Harry's bed and went over to Draco's bed, jumping on her oldest brother just like she had Harry. Draco shot up, his wand pointed at Aurora, whose eyes went wide. Without even thinking, Harry flew across the room and lunged at his sister, both of them going over the edge of the bed. His seeker reflexes allowed him to land on his back, taking the brunt of their fall. Instinct had him throwing up a shield charm to protect them, and it went up just in time as Draco threw a curse at them.

Harry scrambled to his feet and pushed Aurora behind him as Draco continued to silently throw curses at them. It was then that Harry noticed that the blond's eyes were glazed over and he realized that his brother was having another flashback. Cursing himself for not thinking to keep Draco's wand, he felt Aurora's arms go around his waist from behind. He needed to disarm Draco, but couldn't do that without dropping his shield. If Aurora hadn't been there he wouldn't have even bothered with the shield, but he had to protect her as well and Draco was between them and the door. "Aurora..."

"Yes," she whispered.

"Do you have your wand?" he asked. He dropped his shield and quickly reformed it, trying to keep his focus.

"Uh huh..."

"I need you to pull it out and cast a shield like I am. The incantation is _Protego_."

"But Harry..."

"I need your help, Rory!" he snapped at her. He could feel her nod against his back and one hand moved from his waist. Seconds later he heard her cast the sheild charm. He felt a slight rush of magic and dropped his own shield, summoning his brother's wand and catching it as it flew through the air. "Go get Father and Uncle Sev," he told her, moving over to Draco's bed, sitting on the edge of the bed and talking softly, as he did some nights when Draco's nightmares woke him. "It's alright, Draco. You're safe here. We're at Grimmauld Place." And on his continued until Lucius and Severus hurried into the room.

"Are you alright?" Lucius asked him.

Harry nodded. "He's sleeping again." He ran his fingers through his hair and then handed Draco's wand to Lucius. "We should put that away from a while."

"Good idea," Lucius replied, placing the wand into a pocket in his robes. "We're going to Potter House this afternoon after you and Draco go with Severus to the Ministry."

"He'll be fine, Harry," Severus said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder.

Lucius sighed deeply as he watched Harry relax at the touch of his godfather. How could he ever hope to compete against the bonds his two oldest sons so obviously shared with Severus?

~*~

A few hours later Harry and Draco entered the Ministry of Magic with Severus, Camille and Katie. They were headed to the Department of Magical Records. Since Katie had been born in a Muggle hospital, her birth certificate had been filed with the Muggle authorities and for her protection she had been given Camille's last name, which Camille had later reverted back to after Severus had Obliviated her. Now that Severus was able to publically claim his daughter, he wanted to change her name, but to do that he needed to file her birth certificate with the Ministry. None of them were thrilled to be inside the Ministry again, but Severus wanted to get this done before the family left to go to Potter House.

At the end of the summer Severus, Draco, Harry and Aurora would leave from Potter House to return, or in Aurora's case make her first trip, to Hogwarts and Camille and Katie would be staying with the rest of the Malfoys and the Tonks. Much to Severus pleasure, Camille, Narcissa and Andromeda had become fast friends, as had Lily and Katie. Severus was quite glad that his wife and daughter would be staying with the man he considered a brother and his family. It would be much safer for them that way, because there were still a few Death Eaters that the Aurors had not been able to capture yet.

Harry was surprised to find Percy Weasley seated at a desk within the Department of Records. "Hello Percy. What are you doing down here? I figured you would still be working in the Minister's office."

Percy shook Harry's hand. "Kingsley offered me a position in his office, but I wanted something different...and this office needed someone who was good with paperwork. How can I help you today?"

"I need to file a magical birth certificate," Severus answered, putting an arm around Katie and drawing her to him side. "And request a name change."

"For the little girl?" Percy asked, summoning the proper documents.

"Yes."

"He's my Daddy," Katie told him.

Percy smiled at her and took the Muggle birth certificate that Camille gave him, filling in the magical birth certificate. Once he finished copying over the information there he looked up at his former professor. "Have you decided on godparents?"

"Harry and Draco," Camille answered.

"A little unusual, but not unheard of," Percy said as he finished filling out the first form and turned to the second. "And whose name do you want to change?"

Katie looked up at her daddy, who nodded at her. "Mine."

"Oh? And what do you want your new name to be?"

She smiled up at her daddy, hugging his leg. "Katherine Elizabeth Snape," she said carefully, just like Aunt Cissy had taught her.


	30. Chapter 30

After settling Teddy down for a nap in his new room at Potter House, Harry left the house and headed down to the lake, needing some time to rest and regroup after the long day. Once the paperwork had been completed at the Ministry, giving Katie her rightful name and having Harry and Draco named her godfathers, they had returned to Grimmauld Place, where they had recast the Fidelius Charm with Harry as the Secret Keeper. Harry had protested at first, but the adults had said that since the house belonged to him it was the most logical choice. That way only those that he wanted to know about the house could find it. He had to admit that it did make sense.

Charm complete, Narcissa had Apparated out to Potter House with Andromeda so that the older witch would be able to help transport the rest of the family since Potter House was not connected to the Floo Network. They had come back to Grimmauld Place and with six people able to Apparate they were able to take everyone at once: Camille with Severus, Katie with Draco, Teddy with Harry and the other three adults taking Aurora, Reg and Lily. The first thing they had done once arriving at Potter House was to recast the Fidelius Charm there, again with Harry as the Secret Keeper.

Harry had been further surprised when Lucius and Narcissa had insisted that he take the Master Suite. He had argued with them, but had finally just given in. The Tonks had settled into what had once been known as the Heir's Suite which was located directly across the hall from Harry's new rooms. Andromeda said that she would be happier with Teddy for now and knew that Harry would want his godson close by. Severus and his family had been given a small suite of rooms, while Lucius, Narcissa and Harry's siblings had all settled back into the rooms they had occupied before.

Now, finally able to get away for a few moments as the sun was beginning to set, Harry sat down on the small dock at the lake and slipped off his trainers and socks, rolling up the legs of his trousers and sticking his feet in the water. The cool water felt great on his sore feet. He leaned back against the dock, resting his head on his hands and closing his eyes, enjoying the slight breeze.

--

Narcissa watched from the window as her new found son left the house and walked down toward the lake. After a moment she followed him. She smiled when she saw him remove his shoes and stick his feet in the lake before stretching out on the dock. Slipping off her own shoes, she moved to sit beside him, her feet slipping into the water as well. "Water feels great, doesn't it?" she asked softly.

Harry cracked open an eye and looked at her. "It does."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before she spoke again. "Is everything alright, Harry?"

He sighed deeply. "I don't know. I need to decide what to do."

"About what?"

"I had thought I wanted to be an Auror…spent the last three years planning to do just that. But now I really don't want anything to do with the Ministry. I can go back to Hogwarts if I want, but I don't know what to do once I finish there."

"Didn't you lead Dumbledore's Army?"

He nodded. "I did. During fifth year."

"Did you enjoy teaching them?"

After another moment he nodded.

"Perhaps you should consider teaching. From what I understand you were quite good at it."

"Where would I teach?"

"Hogwarts of course. Sev will only be teaching sixth and seventh years of Defense. They'll need someone to teach the younger years."

"I'm sure that McGongall has already found someone. Besides, she probably won't let me teach for a few years anyway."

"If you agree to come teach in say five years, I'm sure she'd hold the position for you. Just try talking to her." Harry nodded and they sat there in companionable silence for several minutes before Narcissa spoke again. "Harry…you know that you are more than welcome to invite your friends to visit you, right? No matter where we're staying."

"I know…it's just…I guess I'm still not used to having a place to invite people to."

She reached over and ran her fingers through his hair, smiling when he leaned into the touch. "You have two houses of your very own now. As well as half a dozen other houses that are part the Malfoy estate. Your father and I love you very much and we deeply regret what we've done to you in the past. You have a twin brother who, even though he is older, had come to rely on you a great deal. Reg adores you and can't wait for you to teach him how to fly. Liliana thinks you hung the moon. Aurora is looking forward to going to Hogwarts with you next year and telling everyone that Harry Potter is her big brother. You've just been named godfather to your own godfather's adorable little girl. Your godson will not go down for a nap unless you rock him to sleep…and that will create a problem when you go back to school, unless you've arranged your schedule so that you can come back every day and put him down for his nap," she told him with a smile and he smiled in return.

"That could be a small problem," he told her. "We'll have to think about that one."

"In addition to this family, you have another family who has come to think of you as one of their own. Their daughter is a very special young lady who loves you very much. And I think the feeling is mutual."

He sighed. "It is. I love Ginny, but we aren't really together right now. We…I…I ended things with her a year ago. I didn't want her getting hurt because of me."

"I saw the two of you after the Battle, Harry. You still love her and she still loves you. And if you decide to marry her one day, I would be quite proud to call her my daughter."

"You would?" he asked, looking up at her. "Even though her family is considered blood traitors?"

"None of that really matters much any more. After all our world has been through in the last few years, we just want you to be happy."


	31. Chapter 31

A couple days later Harry sent Hermione an owl, asking her to meet him in Diagon Alley. He met her in front of Flourish and Blotts. "Do you trust me?" he asked her with a grin.

She looked over at him. "Of course I do, Harry? Why?"

His answer was to pull her into his arms and Apparate her out to Potter House.

"Warn a girl next time," she said, hitting him lightly in the chest.

He laughed. "I wanted to surprise you. Turn around and look."

She looked at him for a moment before turning around. There before her stood a large manor that looked like something out of the Jane Austen movies she was rather fond of. "Oh Harry…it's…it's beautiful. I've never seen anything quite so grand…except for Malfoy Manor."

"Like Malfoy Manor this place has been handed down for many, many generations. 'Mione…welcome to Potter House."

She turned to face him. "Potter House? This belonged to James and Lily?"

"Dad grew up here. After Voldemort killed them, Lucius…Father bought it. He bought it to keep it for me as part of my inheritance from the Potters. This is where Aurora, Reg and Lily have been hiding."

"He saved it? For you?" Harry nodded. "He gave me the papers a couple weeks ago. You see, the Malfoy estate is entailed away to Draco as the oldest son. That was one of the reasons that they gave me to the Potters…so that I could have an inheritance. Lily couldn't have any more after they lost that baby, the real Harry, so they took me when Father and Mother offered me to them. The Potters would have an heir and they thought I would be safe." He shrugged. "It didn't really work the way they hoped that it would. So Father made sure to buy this house and keep it for me."

"Is it really as big as it looks from here?" she asked, turning to gaze at the house again.

He laughed. "I have four rooms all to myself. See that wing on the right there? The second floor is all mine. I never even had a room to call my own before…"

She squeezed his hand. "Harry, I'm so happy for you."

"Think Ginny will like it?"

"Oh Harry," she said with a laugh. "She'll love it. She'd be crazy not to! Are you going to show her your house?"

"Yeah. But I want it to be special. Because of the events of last summer, Mother and Father didn't get to have the traditional wealthy pureblood coming-of-age party for Draco. And they really didn't want to do it without me too. So they are bound and determined to throw a huge party this year at Malfoy Manor. I may sneak her over here then. Mother said that this party would be a good way to formally introduce me to Wizarding Society." He chuckled. "Just think, I went from living in a cupboard to being one of the most important members of Wizarding High Society. Can you believe it?"

"You were meant to be a part of this, Harry. If Voldemort hadn't been in the picture this is exactly where you would be." She laughed. "You and Draco will probably be the two most eligible bachelors when Witch Weekly releases their new list in the fall."

"Well they can just forget it…because this bachelor is taken. A pretty little red-head stole his heart."

"Just listen to you, Harry. When did you start talking like that?"

"It must be the Malfoy in me," he said, putting his arm around her shoulder.

She put her arm around his waist, leaning her head against the shoulder of the boy she considered not only her best friend but also a brother. "Have they said anything to you about Ginny? Or do you have to end up marrying someone like Daphne or Millicent or Merlin forbid, Pansy."

"Actually, they both told me that I was free to marry whoever I wanted," he told her as they walked toward the house. "Mother told me that she saw Ginny and I together after the Battle…and that she could tell that we really loved each other. I guess Draco probably told them about Ginny coming to see me that night too."

"How is he Harry? He looked awful that day at the Ministry for his trial."

"Not well," he told his best friend. It had been a couple weeks since he had seen her and he knew that it had been far too long. She understood him in a way that none of his family did. "The Dementors weakened him…not just physically, but emotionally as well, I think. He's changed. Aurora got her letter a couple days ago and jumped on his bed to wake him up. He had a flashback and we ended up dueling while I tried to protect her. We took his wand away from him."

"What is your family going to do?"

"We'll just keep doing what we've been doing. We don't leave him alone…even at night. At Grimmauld we shared a room so that I could be there in case something happened. When we got here we put him in his old room, but then decided to move him into my suite. He has a little chinchilla that he keeps with him almost all the time. Except for during the night, Daedalus stays in the pocket of his robes. I've seen him walk around the house with his hand in that pocket, putting the little guy."

"Daedalus?" she asked. He nodded. "Did he tell you the meaning behind the name?"

"He did. We all think it's rather fitting. And hopefully he'll help him somehow."

"I hope so too," she told him. "Are you going back to Hogwarts this year?"

"Yeah, but I'll be staying in Slytherin with Draco. We'll have our own room."

"I'm going to have my own room too, but I'm going to see if Ginny can room with me. Has anyone else been asked to come back?"

"I think Professor Sprout was going to ask Neville to come back and take extra Herbology lessons."

"Bill and Fleur were at the Burrow the other night for dinner. He's been offered the Defense position for the younger years and Fleur has been offered the one of Potions."

"I don't know about Fleur, but I think Bill would be great for Defense."

"So do I. Harry, I talked to the Headmistress about the possibility of teaching at Hogwarts one day. She said that she can't offer me anything right away but if I asked her again in four or five years, she'd consider it."

"Mother and I were talking about that very thinking a few days ago." He fell silent for a moment. "I don't want to be an Auror any more. I don't want anything to do with the Ministry. But I really enjoyed working with the D.A. and I think I'm pretty good at it. She told me to talk to the Headmistress about that very possibility that you mentioned."

"Could you imagine us teaching together at Hogwarts?"

"You know after all the stuff we pulled; no one will ever be able to get away with anything again."

"We did get into some trouble didn't we?" she asked.

He laughed. "Come on inside and let me give you a tour. Then you can help me come up with something special for when I finally bring Ginny out here."


	32. Chapter 32

Narcissa was coming down the stairs when Harry and Hermione came into the house through the front door.

"Hello Mother," Harry said, going to kiss her cheek as had become his habit.

Hermione smiled when Narcissa kissed his cheek in return. She was glad that Harry was getting along so well with his newfound family.

Narcissa stepped toward the girl. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Miss Granger," she said, shaking Hermione's hand.

"You too, Mrs. Malfoy," Hermione replied politely. "And please, call me Hermione."

"Then I insist you call me Cissy," the older woman said. "Will you be staying for lunch?"

"Once I show 'Mione the library we won't be able to get rid of her," Harry laughed.

Hermione gave him a sharp elbow in the ribs. "Oh hush," she told him before turned back to Narcissa. "I'd be delighted to stay."

"Wonderful. Harry dear, why don't you give your friend a tour of the house."

"Yes Mother," the boy chuckled, winking at his friend. He took Hermione's hand and led her around the old house.

Half an hour later he poked his head into the playroom where he younger siblings spent most of their days. "Can I come in?" he asked.

Hermione watched as the boy she had seen with Harry in Diagon Alley and two little girls ran to greet Harry, who knelt down to catch them.

Harry caught his little brother and wrestled with him playfully for a moment while the two little girls stood to the side waiting for their turn with the older boy. The two girls were as different as night and day: the older one with the trademark blond hair of a Malfoy and the younger with black hair. Harry set the boy aside and pulled the two girls into his arms, hugging them and kissing their little faces until they giggled. One would almost think that they hadn't seen each other in several days or weeks rather than just a couple hours ago.

Hermione couldn't help but wonder how different things would have been for her best friend if he had grown up as a Malfoy. He was certainly in his element with his younger siblings. It was easy to see that they adored him and the feeling was mutual. He was a wonderful brother and would make a wonderful father someday.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost didn't feel the slight tugging on her sleeve. Hermione looked down to see Reg standing beside her. "Hello Reg."

"You're one of Harry's friends from school," he told her.

She sat in a nearby chair, the little boy moving with her. "Yes, I am. Harry's my best friends and we had all kinds of adventures together."

"Draco said that you were very pretty. He's right," the boy said innocently.

Hermione just stared at the miniature version of Draco in shock.

"Regulus Sirius Malfoy," Harry fussed. "Have you been reading Draco's journal again?"

"Maybe…" Reg answered sheepishly, before nodding under the stern look his older brother was giving him.

The look reminded Hermione very much of a certain Potions Master and she couldn't help but giggle. "Sorry Harry, but for a moment there you reminded me of Snape."

Her friend smiled. "That's nothing. Show her Katie."

The dark haired little girl crossed her arms and gave a perfect Snape glare.

"That's almost scary," Hermione said, giving a slight shudder. She knew now who that adorable little girl belonged to.

Harry pulled the little girl into his arms again and kissed her cheek. "That was good, Katie-bug." He stood and went over to where Aurora was curled up in a chair, so engrossed in her book that she hadn't heard all the noise or his approach. He reached out and snatched the book from her hands, careful not to lose her place.

"Hey!" she protested. "Give that back."

"Hello to you too," he said, lightly flicking her nose, which she wrinkled at him.

"Hello Harry, Hermione," the girl replied. "Can I have my book back now? I'm trying to read ahead for school."

Harry shook his head, but gave her the book. "Draco and I have a bet going as to what House she'll be in," he told Hermione as his sister buried her nose in her book again.

Lily skipped over and threw her arms around her brother's waist. "When can you take me flying again?"

"Maybe tomorrow, princess," he told her, ruffling her curls. "I have company today."

She pouted but went back to playing with Katie at a large dollhouse that looked like Malfoy Manor.

Harry led Hermione out of the room and to the other end of the house. "You have to see Teddy." He walked into Teddy's room and lifted the baby into his arms, cuddling the baby to his chest.

Hermione stepped close, resting a gentle hand on Teddy's back. "He's adorable." Teddy's hair turned black as he snuggled closer to his godfather. If she didn't know better she would have through them to be father and son.

"Aunt Andy wants to raise him, but I'm going to be a big part of his life. He's not going to feel unloved."

"He's got you…and you have a family now."

Harry smiled at her. "Want to hold him?"

Sure," she said and they carefully transferred Teddy from Harry's arms to hers. She cuddled the baby close, kissing his brow and breathing in his baby scent.

"Is Ron still mad?" Harry asked after several minutes.

She sighed. "I…I think he's just confused, Harry. Like he's not really sure what to think about all this. And it does take some getting used to. Just give him time and he'll come around. He always does."

"I know. The rest of the Weasleys seem alright with the idea."

"They love you. And they're considered the two of us to be part of their family for a long time. They just want you to be happy and if the Malfoys ever mistreated you, they'd be the first to jump to your defense."

"That's what George told me."

Teddy was sleeping again so Hermione tucked him back into his little bed. "So where is that twin brother of yours?"

"Come on," Harry said, leading her across the hall to his suite of rooms.

Draco was in their sitting room, stretched out on the couch, one hand lazily petting the chinchilla that sat on his chest.

"You're looking better, Malfoy," Hermione said, sitting in a nearby chair.

"Thank you, Granger," Draco replied. "I hear that you'll be joining Harry and I at Hogwarts this year."

"I will."

"I'm looking forward to beating you this year."

"You have an advantage, Dragon," Severus said, coming into the room. "You did have the opportunity to attend some of your classes last year."

"You spoil my fun, Sev," the blond replied, sitting up enough to take the potion that he was handed. He gave the vial back to the Potions Master and lay down again.

"I met your daughter, Professor," Hermione told him. "She's beautiful."

"Thank you, Miss Granger," Severus replied. "I quite agree with you."

Lucius came into the room and took the chinchilla from his now sleeping oldest son. After putting the animal into its cage, he walked back over to Hermione. "Narcissa sent me to call you for lunch," he told them, offering Hermione his arm like the proper gentleman he was.

Blushing slightly, Hermione stood and took his arm. Things really had changed.


	33. Chapter 33

That afternoon, Hermione let herself into the Potions lab where Severus was busy brewing. "Could I talk to you for a moment, sir?" she asked the Potions Master.

He looked over at her and nodded, gesturing toward a nearby stool. "I had a feeling you would be coming by. What did you do with my godson?"

"Godson?" she asked, taking a seat. "Oh…yes. Harry. Lily and Reg really wanted to go flying so I convinced him to take them. Told him I could entertain myself for an hour."

He nodded toward a small pile of belladonna on the table. "Dice that for me and tell me what it is that I can do for you."

She picked up a knife and started dicing the plant. "Sir, what's wrong with Draco? He should be recovered from Azkaban, shouldn't he? You were only there for two weeks…and there aren't very many Dementor guards anymore…"

He sighed and continued for a few moments before answering her. "I shouldn't be telling you, but as I know that you'll just go looking for answers on your own, I'll save you the trouble. Draco's continued suffering is from more than just his time in Azkaban. It was very hard on him, but it brought forth a condition that had been dormant."

"What condition is it, Sir?"

"Are you familiar with the Muggle disease Lupus, Miss Granger?"

"Yes sir. It's a disease where the body's immune system attacks its own tissues and organs and can affect the joints, kidneys, heart, lungs, skin…"

"Very good. There is a similar Wizarding disease that also affects a person's magic."

"Is that what Draco has?" she asked, finishing the belladonna and starting on another ingredient, having recognized the potion he was working on.

"Draco is quite stubborn and refuses to see a Healer. I have spoken to a Healer who has confirmed my suspicions."

She was silent for a few minutes before speaking again. "I know that Muggle Lupus can be fatal…is the Wizarding kind fatal too?"

"It can be, but only when a witch or wizard completely exhausts themselves and their magic."

"Is that why you asked Harry to move to Slytherin?"

"Yes, Miss Granger. As I'm sure you probably know, the Sorting Hat wanted to put Harry into Slytherin, but Harry talked it out of it. Not only will Harry be there to help Draco, but it will give him a chance to be in the House he should have been in…and it will go a long way toward rebuilding Slytherin to have him there."

"I think it will be good for Harry too, Sir."

"I'm glad you approve, Miss Granger. Is that all that you wished to ask me?"

Hermione looked down and hesitated before answering. "No sir. I…I used a memory charm on my parents and I'm not really sure if it can be reversed. I know in theory it can, but what if I cast the charm incorrectly?"

He looked down at her. "Miss Granger, the only mistake I've ever known you to make was to use cat hair instead of human when you drank the Polyjuice Potion in your second year."

"You knew about that?!"

"Indeed I did. Like Albus, I knew everything that went on in the school. At least everything that involved Harry, as it was my responsibility to keep him safe."

Hermione groaned. "I still can't believe that I did that."

"Miss Granger, you were a second year who successfully brewed a Master level brew. Your only mistake was not being careful with the hair that you selected. Did you do your normal level research before you cast the memory charms on your parents?"

"Yes sir."

"Then I'm sure you did not make a mistake. You are quite a brilliant and powerful witch, Miss Granger. If it will make you feel better, I will give you two vials of this Memory Restorative when I finish you."

"You'd do that for me?"

"Yes. Consider it a 'thank you' for being such a wonderful friend to Harry all these years."

She smiled. "Thank you, sir. I appreciate it."

--

Harry and Draco were in there sitting room, Draco in his usual spot on the sofa and Harry in one of the arm chairs. They each had a bottle of firewhiskey in their hands and there were bottles of various shapes and sizes littering the floor.

"_Show me the way to go home_," Draco sang softly.

"You are at home, ferret," Harry replied, taking another swig from the bottle in his hand.

The blond continued. "_I'm tired and I want to go to bed_…"

"Then go," Harry muttered.

"Sing with me Harry…"

"No."

"What the hell are you two doing?" Lucius demanded from the doorway.

"We're drinking, Father," Harry replied. With a flick of his wand he levitated a bottle over to the man. "Join us."

Lucius took the bottle and threw it into the fireplace, shattering it. "I don't mind a drink every once in a while, but my sons will not become drunks."

"Did you boys drink all of this last night?" Severus asked, kicking aside a few of the bottles on the floor.

"I don't know," Draco answered, taking another drink from the bottle in his hand. Severus pulled the bottle from his hand, causing it to spill all over the boy. "Hey…" he protested lazily.

Lucius banished all of the bottles with a wave of his wand. "Draco, I told you that I don't want you drinking."

"And I told you, Father that I'm of age…" the blond responded.

Harry went to stand, but slid to the floor instead. Severus helped the boy back into his chair. "You're lucky, mister, that you are too old for me to tan your backside." That just caused Harry to start laughing and then he turned his head to the side and threw up all over the floor and the hem of his godfather's robes before leaning weakly against the man. Growling, Severus pulled off his outer robes and dropped them to the floor. He helped Harry to his feet and practically drug the boy toward his bedroom, using his wand to divest the Wizarding hero of his now filthy clothes and put the boy to bed.

Across the room, Lucius was helping his oldest son into his own room, giving the boy a lecture that he wouldn't remember once he woke up.

**AN: The song Draco was singing is a drinking song that was made popular around 1925.**


	34. Chapter 34

"Up Draco," Lucius said, entering his oldest son's room several hours later.

Draco groaned loudly, his head pounding, and pulled his pillow over his head as his father threw open the curtains, allowing sunlight to flood the room.

Lucius turned and stared at his son for a moment before holding out his hand and summoning his cane. "Now, Draco," he tried again. The young man didn't move. Growling, Lucius gave him a light swat with his cane.

Draco shot up and turned to his father, trying to glare at him, but the pain in his head was too great and he held his head, groaning again.

"Get dressed," he told his son. "You're going to see a Healer."

"No," Draco protested. "I already told Sev that I wasn't going."

"If you want access to your vault on your eighteenth birthday, you will do as you are told."

"You fight dirty, Father."

"Get dressed," Lucius said again. "I expect you downstairs in half an hour or I'll come upstairs and take you to the Healer as you are."

The young blond stood and stumbled toward the bathroom that connected his room to Harry's. "Alright…I'm moving."

An hour later they were being shown into the office of Healer Lydia Davies. "Have a seat," she told them, gesturing to the two chairs opposite her desk.

Draco slumped down in his seat, looking nothing like the young, pureblood aristocrat that he was. He could feel his father's glare, but at the moment he didn't care. His head felt like it was going to explode and he didn't want to be here.

Healer Davies flipped through some parchment on her desk. "I've read the information and viewed the memories that Professor Snape sent, but I'd like to run my own tests," she told them, standing and walking around the desk. She pulled her wand and cast a series of diagnostic spells on Draco, a quill making notes on a piece of parchment on her desk. Once finished, she moved to sit down again, scanning the parchment.

"What's wrong with my son," Lucius asked.

"He's got Degenerative Magical Immune Syndrome."

Draco leaned his head against his hand, his elbow propped up on the armrest of his chair as he tried to ignore the words being spoken around him.

"What do we do to cure this…syndrome?"

"I'm afraid that there is no cure for it. All we can do is treat the symptoms. However, if your son is careful he can live a fairly normal life," she replied. "Cases like Draco's are my specialty."

"Is it fatal?" Lucius asked.

Alright, so that made Draco pay attention, though he gave no outward sign that he was.

"It can be," she told him. "If he completely exhausts his magic."

Lucius nodded. "So how do we treat the symptoms?"

"With potions, which Professor Snape can provide. Draco will need proper rest and a healthy diet."

"Is that all?" Draco asked, sitting up.

She turned to look at the younger man, who entered the conversation for the first time. "You will also need to learn not to overdo it, physically or magically."

"How do I so that?"

Healer Davies reached into her desk drawer and pulled out twelve Knuts, setting them on the desk in front of Draco. "Think of these Knuts as the things you want to get done every day. What will you do with your day?"

"That's easy…classes, homework, Quidditch practices…"

"Slow down," she told him. "First, you have to get out of bed." She took away one of the Knuts and continued, taking away another for each task that she listed. "Then you have to get dressed. After that, you have to walk to the Great Hall for breakfast. Then take away one for each class that you have. And two more for walking between classes and another for the trip to lunch and one for dinner. Then there is homework…and a trip to the library."

"But I don't have any left…"

"Some days you may not have a full twelve: if you skip a meal, if you don't get a full night of sleep, or if you come down with a cold. A change in the weather will sometimes affect how many you have.

"Some days you may have more than twelve. On those days it is most important that you don't try to use up all your Knuts. I live with this myself, Draco, and I've learned that it's best to try to live with a Knut if reserve…because you never know what will happen."

Draco started at the coins on the desk for a few minutes before nodding. "Thank you, Healer."

"You're welcome, Draco. And please feel free to owl me if you ever have any questions. Here's a list of potions that Professor Snape will need to keep on hand for you."

The two men thanked her again and made their way out of the office.

--

Severus sat in the potions lab at Potter House, staring at the Memory Restorative that he had brewed for Camille. He had brewed it to perfection, so why was he so hesitant to give it to her? More than anything he wanted his wife to have her memories back, but it had been several years since he had taken her memories of him. Several years that they couldn't get back. Would she still be so forgiving once she had her memories?

Sighing, he stood. He couldn't put it off any longer, because she knew that the potion was finished. She had gone with him to take two vials to Granger at the Burrow this morning. Vial in hand, he made his way upstairs to the suite of rooms that he and his little family were occupying.

Camille and Katie were on the sofa, Katie's head on Camille's lap as she took a nap.

Severus dropped a kiss on Camille's brow and then knelt in front of her. "Here," he said, handing her the vial. "It's…" Why was he having so much trouble speaking? He had never had a problem with that before. "That's the Memory Restorative. You don't have to take it if you don't want to."

She reached out and caressed his cheek. "I want to Sev."

He nodded. "I'll put Katie in her bed," he said, gently lifting his daughter into his arms and walking into the bedroom she had been sharing with her mother. Was it too much to hope that starting tonight Camille would be sleeping with him?

Camille stared at the vial for a moment, running her finger over the smooth glass. After a brief hesitation, she uncorked the vial and drank the liquid, before setting the vial aside. Closing her eyes, she waited for the memories to return.

Suddenly the memories began to wash over her: the day they met, their first date…and the many dates following, the night he proposed, their wedding and the night that followed, telling him that he was going to be a father, the birth of their daughter, watching as he cared so tenderly for their daughter, and finally, their last night together.

At some point during the parade of memories, tears had started spilling down her cheeks and she did nothing to stop them. They were bittersweet tears: sad because of all the time they had lost, yet happy as she remembered just how much she loved him.

She opened her eyes when a gentle touch began to wipe away her tears. Severus was kneeling in front of her again, a bit of hope shining in his dark eyes. "Oh Sev," she whispered. "I love you so much…" When he hesitated, she leaned forward and kissed him.

**AN: The analogy that the Healer used with the Knuts is based off of "The Spoon Theory" by Christine Miserandino. It's the best explanation that I've ever seen for trying to explain to a healthy person what it's like living with a chronic illness. Thanks Christine!**


	35. Chapter 35

Harry hurried down the stairs, broom in hand, trying to sneak out of the house without Reg or Lily seeing so that he could have some unaccompanied flying time.

"Harry."

He stopped and turned to see Lucius standing in the doorway of the library. Behind his father, he could see Severus standing near the fireplace. "Yes sir?"

"Can we talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure," he said, shrugging and stepping into the library. He propped his broom up in one corner and took a seat near the desk. "What did you want to talk about?"

Lucius closed the door and walked over to lean against the desk, facing Harry. "It's about the drinking the other night."

"Look," Harry said. "About that. It won't be happening again. As sick as I was when I woke up…that's not an experience that I want to repeat."

"Good. See that it doesn't." Lucius told him. "As I said the other night, I'm not against an occasional drink, but none of my children will become drunks. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir."

"I guess I don't have to tell you how disappointed I am in both of you."

Harry looked down at his hands. He couldn't quite explain it, but those words hurt. They had hurt quite deeply. He hadn't meant to disappoint his family. "I'm sorry sir," he whispered.

Severus turned around. "Harry, you know your brother has been quite ill since his time in Azkaban. Drinking will only make his condition worse. We need your help to make sure that he doesn't continue drinking. Can you do that?"

Harry nodded, still looking down. "Yes sir. I…I won't disappoint you again."

Lucius reached out and placed his hand gently on his son's head. He moved his hand down to lift Harry's chin, but stopped when Harry leaned into his hand as the fingers touched his cheek. Relishing the moment, he let his hand linger, before lifting his son's chin. "I am disappointed in your actions, Harry, but you are not a disappoint to me. I'm proud of the young man that you have become."

"Thank you…Father," Harry rasped.

"Go enjoy your flight, son," Lucius told him.

Nodding, Harry stood and hurried from the room, grabbing his broom as he went.

--

After his flight, Harry made his way into the lab where Severus was brewing and took a seat on a stool across from him.

"How was your flight?" Severus asked him.

Harry shrugged. He was quiet as he began to help prepare the ingredients for the Bruise Salve that Severus was brewing. After several minutes he spoke again. "I really screwed up, didn't I?"

Severus sighed. "No. You just made a mistake."

"It's…our not drinking is really important to both of you, isn't it?"

"It is."

"Why?" Harry asked, looking up at him.

Severus hesitated a moment before answering. "I think your father needs to tell you his own reasons. However, I can tell you my own…well, you saw the memories." Harry nodded. "Tobias Snape was a…a mean drunk, and he was rarely sober. He thought…he thought he could beat the magic out of me. In the end, the drinking is what killed him. Liver cancer…it was a slow and painful death. I swore that I would never touch a drop of alcohol."

"I won't do it again, Sev. But it felt good to just…let loose for a change. It was like…there were no worries…no one expecting anything of me. I just existed."

"You've had to deal with too much, Harry. I told Albus not to place that burden on your shoulders, but the old coot never listened."

"He asked too much of both of us," Harry told him. "Far too much."

--

Lucius walked into the sitting room that Harry and Draco shared. There was a blazing fire in the fireplace and Draco was curled up in one of the armchairs, wrapped in a blanket. "How are you feeling, Dragon?" he asked, sitting in the other chair.

"Miserable," the younger blond admitted. It had been nearly a week since he had seen Healer Davies and he had managed to pick up a cold, leaving him feeling extremely weak, even though a dose of Pepper-Up Potion had cleared up the cold.

"Severus is working on some new potions for you."

Draco nodded. "I guess I won't be able to go back to Hogwarts…"

"You will, if you are careful like Healer Davies said. Severus and Harry will be there to help you."

The younger wizard sighed deeply, staring into the fire.

"Draco, I…there's something I need to tell you. After the Dark Lord was defeated the first time, I couldn't get the images of people I had seen tortured…people I had helped torture out of my head. I started drinking…trying to drown out the images, the screams, the smells…"

Draco closed his eyes. He understood why his father had started drinking. It was why he had started drinking himself, back on that night when he had dreamed about the death of Charity Burbage. And nearly every night since then he had dreamed of something else that had driven him to start drinking.

"I drank heavily for about four years."

"Why did you stop?"

"I was drunk one night and…I don't even remember now what it was that you had done, you were five at the time…all I remember is that I was holding you over the balcony, about to drop you. Narcissa was standing next to me crying and trying to convince me not to hurt you. Thankfully Severus just happened to come through the Floo and caught you when I lost my grip on you as I was trying to pull you back over the railing."

He stared at his father in shock. "Why…why don't I remember that?"

"I asked Severus to Obliviate you…I didn't want you remembering what I had almost done to you. That I had almost killed you."

"Mother forgave you for that? Did I forgive you for that?"

Lucius nodded. "I begged your forgiveness the next morning before I asked Severus to Obliviate you. Children forgive much quicker than adults. It took a while for Narcissa to forgive me and she eventually did.

"I rarely drink now and when I do, I'm very careful to limit myself to only one drink. But I don't want my sons drinking, because all it takes is one drink. Then it becomes another and another…and pretty soon it's three or four or more. I don't want any of you making the same mistake that I did."

Draco took a deep breath. "I need…need time to think through all of those."

Lucius stood. "Of course. I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me again."

**AN: Sorry for the delay. This chapter gave me quite a bit of trouble. There are only about ten chapters left in this fic, but there is a sequel planned.**


	36. Chapter 36

"Good morning, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said, coming into the kitchen at the Burrow. The Weasleys had kindly allowed her to stay with them until she went after her parents.

"Good morning, dear," Molly replied as she put breakfast on the table. "Ron left with George about half an hour ago."

Hermione nodded. "I was up and heard them leave."

"When are you going to find your parents?"

"Next week, probably," Hermione answered with a soft sigh. "Professor Snape promised me two vials of Memory Restorative. So I'm just waiting on them." _And Harry's party,_ she added silently.

They heard the Floo activate in the other room. "Can you see who that is, dear?"

"Yes, ma'am," she replied, heading into the other room. She saw Professor Snape's head in the fireplace. "Good morning, Professor."

"Good morning, Miss Granger. May I step through?" he asked.

"Please do," she told him, stepping aside to allow him room.

He stepped through the Floo and into the Burrow. "Your potions, Miss Granger," he said, holding the two vials out to her. "And it does work. My wife got her memories back."

She smiled, taking the vials and placing them in the pocket of her jacket. "That's wonderful, sir!"

"Thank you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out two envelopes. "Narcissa asked me to deliver these. Harry told me that he mentioned it to you already."

"He did, sir," she replied, taking the invitations. "I know that Ginny and I will be there, but I'm not sure who else will accept."

"It would mean a great deal to Harry if you two could convince them all to come to his party. He hasn't said anything, but I know that he misses young Mr. Weasley. You two mean a great deal to him. You were his first friends and you've been with him through a great deal. He still needs the two of you."

"I know. Ron's just being stubborn. He'll come around. He always has…fourth year, last year."

"Just do what you can, Miss Granger."

"Hermione, sir. Please, call me Hermione."

"Very well…Hermione."

She smiled at him again. "I'll do what I can to convince the Weasleys to come."

"Thank you," he told her, before stepping back through the Floo.

Still smiling, she went back into the kitchen where Ginny had joined Mrs. Weasley at the table. The three of them had gotten into the habit of having a late breakfast together after Mr. Weasley and Percy had left for the Ministry and George and Ron had left for the shop.

"Who was it, dear?" Molly asked.

"Professor Snape," she replied, sitting at the table. "He brought the potions he promised. And invitations."

"Invitations?" Ginny queried. "To what?"

Hermione handed over the invitation addressed to the Weasley family.

"Is this printed in…gold? And this parchment…it's some of the finest parchment I've ever seen," Ginny said, examining the envelope.

"Open it," Hermione encouraged.

"Alright," Ginny replied, opening the invitation. "Mum! We've been invited to a birthday party for Harry. At Malfoy Manor!"

"There must be some mistake," Molly said. "We'd never be invited to a party there."

"There's no mistake, Mrs. Weasley. You have been invited…all of you," Hermione replied.

"Are you sure, Hermione?"

"Quite. The Malfoys know how much your family means to Harry. And I know that they are quite grateful for all that you've done for him since his return to the Wizarding world."

Molly smiled sadly. "We didn't do as much as we would have liked…"

Hermione reached across the table and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "It was more than they could do. They know that you consider Harry as part of your family and that he considers himself a Weasley, even though he hasn't yet realized it. They don't want to take that away from him…or your family."

"Sounds like you've spent a lot of time with them…" Ginny said, a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"I have spent some time with them. And they aren't what we thought all these years. From what little time I have spent with them, I can tell that they love Harry very much and the younger ones just adore him. They just want him to be happy."

"And we want him to be happy too," Molly told her.

"It would make him very happy to see you there."

"Then we'll be there."

Hermione smiled and pulled a Gringott's key from her pocket. "We need to go shopping, then."

"Who does that key belong to?" Ginny asked her.

"Harry. He loaned it to me. It seems that Sirius left him a note saying that he was to do something special for your family, but Harry couldn't figure out what to do until now. He wants you all to have new dress robes."

"We couldn't possibly," Molly protested.

"Harry insists."

She sighed. "Alright then."

--

Harry knocked on the open door to Lucius and Narcissa's sitting room and stuck his head inside. "Can I come in?" he asked. The rest of the family had gone to bed and Harry had an important question to ask his parents.

"Of course, Harry," Narcissa told him, sitting up from where she had been reclined gracefully on the sofa. Lucius sat aside the book he had been reading aloud.

He came in and sat next to his mother. "I just…I know…"

"What is it son?" Lucius asked.

Harry took a deep breath. "I've thought about it a great deal…and…I…I love Ginny, and I would really like to marry her one day, but I want to make sure that you two are really alright with that. I know you both said that you just wanted me to be happy, but…"

Narcissa took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "We do want you to be happy. And I told you before that I thought that Ginny was the perfect mate for you."

He nodded and looked over at his father, remembering the fight that he and Mr. Weasley had had back just before his second year.

"Much of the way I acted the last several years was just an act," Lucius told him. "If you truly love Ginny and want to marry her, then I give you my blessing." He had sensed that that was what Harry was looking for and readily granted it to his son.

"Thank you…both…very much," Harry told them. "I was…I kinda wanted to do something special for her, but not really a formal engagement. I'm not sure either of us is ready for that. Not after being apart for so long this past year."

"I'll be right back," Narcissa said. She stood and walked into the bedroom, coming back a moment later. Sitting beside him again, she handed him a small, square, velvet-covered box, with what he recognized as the Black crest stamped on top. "I had a feeling that you might be needing those soon, so I had them removed from my vault and sent to me."

He opened the box and saw rings inside. They were both very simple, with gold and silver woven together in an intricate design. He looked up at his mother.

"Those are the Black Betrothal Rings," she told him. "They've been in the family for many, many years."

"Mother…I couldn't possibly take these."

She covered his hand with her own, reaching up to touch his cheek with her other hand. "I want you to have them, Harry. Sirius would have wanted you to have them."

"But…Draco…"

"Will get the Malfoy set," Lucius told him.

Harry nodded and looked down at the rings. "Thank you both. So very much."

**AN: Sorry for the delay with this chapter. I've been working on a fic with Snapegirl for the Prompt fest over at Potions & Snitches and it has a deadline.**


	37. Chapter 37

Harry stood in his room at Malfoy Manor looking into the mirror, trying to straighten the collar on his dress robes. He growled as he tried again. No matter what he did, it just wouldn't lay right. His hair wasn't cooperating either. Sighing, he noticed Narcissa standing in the doorway.

"May I come in?" she asked him.

He nodded. "Help…please…"

Smiling, she walked over to him and expertly fixed the collar of his dark green dress robes. She had picked the fabric because it matched the color of his eyes perfectly. "There. Now sit and let me do something with that hair of yours."

Harry sat down as she picked up his hairbrush and started brushing his hair. "I think I'm going to pass out," he told her. "I can't do this."

"You'll be fine, dear."

"What if she doesn't even show up?"

She smiled down at him. "She'll be here. And she'll say yes. Now stop worrying."

Draco walked in from his room; the new robes that Narcissa had bought for him matched the color of his eyes as well. She wanted her sons to look their best tonight. "Father says that it's time to come downstairs now. The guests will be arriving soon."

"Are you alright?" Harry asked, noticing his brother's slight limp.

"I'm fine," Draco replied, looking into Harry's mirror to take one last look at his hair. "My leg's just a little sore."

"Try not to dance with too many girls tonight," Harry teased, playfully hitting his arm.

"Yeah. Right…with you sneaking off with Ginny for who knows how long?"

"I'm not going to be gone that long, Draco. And Aunt Andy is there with Teddy, so it's not like we'll be doing anything."

"It's a big house, Harry. And there's the stables…the little island down at the lake…"

"Given it some though, hmm?"

Narcissa laughed. "That's enough boys. Let's go downstairs." Together the three of them made their way downstairs to greet their guests.

--

Hermione waited with most of the Weasley family around the invitations to the party. At the prescribed time the invitations would become portkeys that would take them to Malfoy Manor. Bill and Fleur had received their own invitation at Shell Cottage and would be going from there. Percy had made other plans before the invitations had come and would not be attending the party with them. Ron had said that he wasn't coming, but they were all still hoping he would change his mind.

They all turned when they heard footsteps on the stairs and saw Ron standing there in his dress robes. "I thought you weren't coming," Charlie said.

"I wasn't going to," Ron replied. "But I didn't want to be left here alone all night either."

"It's not the reason we were looking for, but I guess it will work," Hermione said, turning away from him.

"'Mione…"

"Oh, drop it, Ronald."

Mr. Weasley checked his watch. "It's almost time. Gather round."

--

Harry stood in the entry of Malfoy Manor between Draco and Aurora, greeting their guests as they came through the door. He was surprised to be greeted warmly by so many people who, just a few shorts months ago, had been out for his blood. At the slight tug on his sleeve, he looked down at Aurora. "Yes, Rory?" he asked her with a smile.

"You have to save me a dance," she told her older brother, smirking at him.

"I do huh?"

She nodded. "Yep. Lily and I both want a dance. With Draco too." She looked around him at her oldest brother, knowing that he was listening in.

Draco smirked and winked at her. "The sooner you learn the better, Harry. Malfoy women always get their way."

"Only the Malfoy women, brother?" he asked, turning to face Draco and stopping when he saw the Weasleys standing in the doorway. Smiling, he walked over to them, stepping into Molly Weasley's embrace. "Thank you for coming," he told her.

"We wouldn't have missed it for anything, dear," she replied, kissing his cheek.

Narcissa stepped forward and shook the woman's hand. "Molly…thank you so much for taking such good care of Harry all these years."

"It was our pleasure. We've considered Harry as one of our own since Ron and the twins brought him to our house before his second year."

"It means a great deal to us."

Harry stepped around the two women and out of the corner of his eye saw his father carrying on a civil conversation with Arthur, Bill and Fleur. He moved closer to his friends, unable to take his eyes off Ginny. She was standing beside George, wearing purple robes that were so dark they almost looked black. He smiled and stepped over to her, pulling her into a hug. They hadn't seen each other since Fred's funeral and he had missed her badly. "Gin…" he whispered.

"I've missed you," she told him, holding him close.

"I missed you too."

Ron took a deep breath. "Harry…"

Harry turned to look at his old friend, one arm still wrapped around Ginny. "Yes?"

"I was a prat…"

"World's biggest…"

"I was the world's biggest prat and you were right."

"Right about what, Ron?" Harry snapped. Ron had been his friend a long time, but he was still quite upset with the other boy.

Ron sighed and took another deep breath. "I should have been happy that you had a family. Forgive me?"

"I'll think about it," Harry told him honestly. He looked over at his parents, who both gave him an encouraging nod, before looking at the Weasley parents. "Might I speak with you for a moment, Mr. Weasley?"

"Of course, my boy," Arthur told him and they stepped away from the others.

Harry wiped his sweaty hands on his robes. "I'd like permission to take Ginny somewhere for a short time and offer her a betrothal ring."

Arthur smiled at him, having been warned by Hermione that Harry was planning something special. "You have my permission, Harry."

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley."

"Arthur…"

"Arthur." Together they walked back to the others. Harry took Ginny's hand. "Come on. I've got a surprise for you."

"What is it?" she asked him, following him out the door.

"Just trust me," he told her, wrapping his arms around her and Apparating them both away.


	38. Chapter 38

Rather than Apparate near the house as he had done with Hermione only a few weeks before, Harry Apparated near the lake, where an arbor had been set up on the dock. The arbor was covered in tiny fairy lights.

Ginny looked around, confused. "Harry…what's going on?"

"Gin, you once told me that you had never really given up on me. Have you given up on me yet?" he asked her, caressing her cheek.

She covered his hand with her own. "I meant what I said. If I had given up on you I wouldn't have come to Grimmauld Place to check on you that night."

He kissed her brow. "I love you, Gin."

"I love you too, Harry," she replied. There were several loud pops as six other people joined them there by the lake: Hermione, Draco, Severus, Narcissa, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Charlie Weasley. She looked back at Harry. "You still haven't told me what is going on."

At Severus' nod, Harry pulled the box with the rings from his pocket. "These are the Black Family betrothal rings…"

"Harry…are you asking me…"

"If you'll have me," he told her.

"I've wanted nothing more since that day I first saw you in King's Cross Station."

"Come on then," he said, leading her to stand in front of Kingsley. He handed the box to Narcissa as they turned to face the new Minister for Magic; Draco standing beside Harry and Hermione beside Ginny.

Kingsley smiled at them, before looking at the three adults standing behind them. "Have the dowry and bride price been agreed upon?" he asked Severus and Charlie.

"They have," the two men answered. Harry wasn't even sure what they had agreed upon, but he trusted his godfather to make the right decision regarding both the bride price and the dowry. He had told the Potions Master to not accept any money as part of the dowry.

Kingsley nodded. "Harry, Ginny…please join hands." Harry turned to face Ginny, taking both her hands into his as she smiled at him. "We are here this evening to witness as the two of you pledge your lives to each other. A betrothal is not an engagement, nor is it a marriage. It is a mutual promise; a contract for a future marriage, whether that marriage be one year down the road or ten." He looked at Draco and Hermione and nodded at the two.

Both should have pulled red ribbons from their pockets, but Draco smirked at his brother as he removed a yellow ribbon from his pocket instead. Gryffindor colors. Ginny couldn't help but giggle in amusement as Draco and Hermione tied the ribbons around the joined hands.

"Repeat after me," Kingsley told Harry. "Ginerva, I take you to be no other than yourself…

"Loving what I know of you…

"Trusting what I do not yet know…

"With respect for your integrity…

"And faith in your love for me…

"Through all of our years together…

"And in all that life may bring us…"

Harry repeated each line of Kingsley, never taking his eyes off Ginny. Then Kingsley had Ginny repeat the words as well. When Ginny finished, the two ribbons burst into flames that did not harm either young person.

"The flames have sealed your vows," he told them. After a moment he continued speaking again. "From the earliest of times the circle has been a symbol of completeness; ...a symbol of committed love. It is a symbol of wholeness perfection and peace. Whenever you look at the rings that you are about to exchange, be reminded of your love and commitment to each other." He held out his right hand and Narcissa placed her family's betrothal rings into his hand. "orbis ut nunquam subsisto

"Totus res verto in orbis

"Orbis terrarum orbis

"Is volvit orbis

"Sol solis volvit inter universum

"Vicis volvit in orbis of ortus quod nex quod ortus

"plagiarius volvit in a orbis

"Quod amo totus res , matrimonium permoveo in cycles pariter.

"Interdum incendia mos exuro perspicuus quod interdum they mos intereo tenus carbo carbonis tunc subsilio iterum in perspicuus flamma.

"Interdum diligo est tepidus ut Ver quod interdum decet Hiberna gelu per molestus quod perturbo.

"Per captus in typicus of orbis vos promitto ut memor usquequaque ut totus res adveho inter , ut servo fides in Ver dum diutinus Hiberna.

"Ut nunquam perdo spes ut totus cinis cineris mos flamma iterum quod ut vestri diligo ero resumo." He looked at Harry. "You may now exchange the rings."

Once the rings had been exchanged, Narcissa took their clasped hands in her own. "May the road rise to meet you,

"May the wind be always at your back.

"May the sun shine warm upon your home,

"The rains fall soft upon your fields.

"And the light of friendship guide your paths together,

"And until we meet again,

"May you see your children's children.

"May you be poor in misfortune, Rich in blessings.

"May you know nothing but happiness from this day forward.

"May green be the grass you walk on.

"May blue be the skies above you,

"May pure be the joys that surround you,

"May true be the hearts that love you.

"And when eternity beckons, at the end of a life heaped high with love,

"May you know the hand of a friend was always near.

"And, today, may the Spirit of Love find a dwelling place in your hearts." She turned and gently took Ginny's face in her hands, kissing her forehead. "Welcome, my daughter."

"Thank you…Mother," Ginny whispered in reply.

Smiling, Narcissa turned to Harry, reaching out to caress his cheek. "Ten minutes, love."

He nodded. "Ten minutes." After a quick round of congratulations and hugs, they were left alone and Harry pulled her into hug, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

"Harry…this was…"

"I wanted to do something special, Gin. Hermione and Mother just took over and planned the whole thing."

"I'll have to remember to thank them." She pulled back and smiled up at him. "So…where are we?"

It was his turn to smile. "We are at Potter House."

"Potter House?"

He nodded and led her up the path toward the house. "Mum and Dad…Lily and James…didn't live here after they were married. Mum fell in love with Godric's Hollow and Dad bought her a house there. But this is where Dad grew up…where several generations of Potters have lived. After Mum and Dad died, Father bought it to make sure that it stayed in my possession."

"Harry…this house…" she said as the house came into view, candles lit in all of the windows, welcoming her visitors. "It's beautiful."

"Could you be happy here, Gin?"

She looked at him. "I'll be happy wherever you are, Harry. Even if it's a one room flat in London."

He gave her a gentle kiss. "Come on…let's go tell my godson that he has a godmother now. Then we need to get back to the party before Father comes looking for us."

Laughing, she followed him into the house.

**AN: The translation for the Latin that Kinsgley spoke is below:**

**The circle that never ends. **

**All things turn in circles. **

**The Earth a circle. **

**It spins in a circle. **

**The Sun turns around the galaxy. Time turns in circles of birth and death and rebirth yet again. **

**The planets spin in a circle. **

**And like all things, marriage moves in cycles as well. **

**Sometimes the fires will burn brightly and sometimes they will die down to coals and then spring up again in bright flames. **

**Sometimes love is warm as the Spring and sometimes it becomes Winter cold with troubles and disruption. **

**By taking on the symbol of the circle you make a promise to remember always that all things come around, to keep faith in Spring while enduring Winter. **

**To never lose hope that all ashes will flame again and that your love will be renewed. **


	39. Chapter 39

After spending a few minutes with Teddy and Andromeda, who welcomed Ginny to the family, Harry Apparated them back to Malfoy Manor.

"Oh Harry," Ginny said, looking up at him as the stood in the Entrance Hall. "I never imagined..."

He kissed her brow. "I wanted to do something special. I'm sorry more of your family couldn't be there for the betrothal ceremony..."

"It was perfect."

"Are you sure, Gin?"

"I'm positive."

Further conversation was stopped when the Weasley parents and Lucius Malfoy stepped into the room to join them. Harry had wanted to have all of both of their families there, but he hadn't told many people because he hadn't wanted Ginny finding out about it beforehand. And so few people had been to Potter House before that it would have taken a great deal of effort to transport the whole group. That and they couldn't leave the party completely without the host family and Harry had wanted to ask her tonight...one year from the day that they had said their final goodbyes in her bedroom at the Burrow. In the end it had been his father who suggested doing it this way and Harry had liked the idea.

Ginny hurried over to show her mother the ancient betrothal ring that Harry had given her. "Look Mum," she said, her face glowing.

"It's lovely, dear," Molly replied before turning and pulling Harry into a hug. "I knew you two would end up together."

"You weren't the only one," Harry told her, smiling at Ginny.

Draco walked into the Entrance Hall. "I hate to break this up…but the crowd is getting restless. We need to move things along."

Molly gave Harry one last hug and they all moved into the ballroom.

Narcissa and Camille walked over to claim the birthday boys for the traditional first dance. Normally as the oldest, Draco would dance with their mother, but as the two women came close he stepped forward and offered Camille his arm.

Shaking his head, Harry took Narcissa's arm and they joined the other couple on the dance floor. "Did you know he was going to do that?" Harry asked her.

"I suspected he might," she replied. "He's very careful of your feelings."

"I know." He fell silent for a moment before speaking again. "Thank you for your help with putting the betrothal ceremony together."

"Harry dear…it was an honor. I've always loved the old traditional ceremonies and so few people use them anymore. I quite enjoyed myself. And I think your friend did too."

"Yes. I think Hermione was quite in her element."

"She's a very nice young woman."

"'Mione's one of my best friends and I love her like a sister."

"Well, she will always be welcome in our home."

"That means a lot to me." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Lucius approach Ginny. He watched as his father bowed formally to his betrothed and then led her to the dance floor.

"Happy birthday, dear," Narcissa told him.

--

Harry was talking to Ginny, Ron and Hermione later when Aurora walked over to them, putting her hands on her hips. "You owe me a dance, Harry," she told her older brother.

"Indeed I do," he replied, bowing to her as he had seen Lucius do earlier that evening, causing Ginny and Hermione to giggle. He winked at Ginny before following his sister.

"He's so good with them," Ginny told her friend.

Hermione nodded. "He is. They adore him and he adores them."

"I'm glad he has a family now. Oh…look," she said, gesturing to where Lucius was now dancing with his youngest daughter.

"That's something I'd never think I'd see," Ron muttered. Both girls turned to look at him. "It's Snape. Dancing!"

They followed his gaze to see the Potions Master on the edge of the dance floor, teaching his young daughter how to dance. "Wow…" Ginny said, her eyes wide.

Hermione merely smiled, before noticing Draco standing off in the shadows. "I'll be right back," she told them, heading his direction. As she got closer, she realized that he was staring out into the garden. "You alright?"

He turned to look at her and then turned back to the window, nodding and sighing.

Upon closer inspection, she could tell that he was shaking and she could see a fine sheen of sweat on his brow. "I could use some fresh air. Care to show me the garden?"

Again he nodded and offered her his arm like the proper gentleman he had been raised to be.

She took his arm and together they walked out into the garden. Once out of sight of the ballroom windows, she stopped at one of the benches. "Do you mind if we sit for a moment?"

His only answer was to shake his head, sitting only once she had done so.

"You're not alright, Draco," she told him. She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and wet it with her wand. Turning toward him, she gently bathed his brow. He pulled away, but when her hand just followed, he sighed and let her continue. Then as if he found it too hard to even hold his head up, he rested his head on her shoulder. She transfigured the wet handkerchief into a small pillow and put it on her lap. "You are just as stubborn as Harry."

"Shut up…" he whispered, though it obviously took great effort to say the two words.

She gently guided his head down to the pillow in her lap. "How long have you felt like this?" she asked, casting a warming charm on his dress robes.

"All day," he admitted softly.

"And you Apparated twice? Draco! Why didn't you say something?"

"This was important to Harry."

She sighed. "Yes, but he wouldn't want you to sacrifice your health either. You are important to him too."

He closed his eyes as she started running her fingers through his hair. "Ginny…"

"You could have gone Side-Along with one of us, you obstinate…"

"'Mione…" he whispered.

"Hmm?"

"You talk too much."

Hermione just smiled, and for once did what he said.


	40. Chapter 40

Harry stood on Platform 9 and 3/4 watching as Hogwarts students loaded their trunks onto the train and said their goodbyes. It seemed odd to be here again. Last year he hadn't expected to be allowed to complete his seventh year.

There were several other of his yearmates returning again this year, many of them members of the DA. Hermione, Parvati, Neville and Dean from Gryffindor. Terry Boot and Padma Patel from Ravenclaw. Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott from Hufflepuff and Draco and Tracy Davis from Slytherin. It was a good group selected from among all the Houses.

"Is it true Harry?" Parvati asked as she and Padma greeted Harry. "Are you really a Malfoy?"

He nodded. "I really am, Parvati. My family is not like everyone thought. Father was helping the Light...he had been since before I was born."

"Are you happy?" Padma asked him.

"Yes. I am," he said with a smile as Katie ran over to him. He lifted his goddaughter into his arms. "Hey Katie-bug."

"Do you really have to leave Uncle Harry?" The little girl asked, giving him her best puppy dog eyes.

He kissed her brow. "You'll be living in Hogsmeade, so we'll see each other often.". He looked at the Patel twins. "Parvati, Padma, this is my goddaughter, Katie Snape. Katie, these are some of my friends."

"Snape?" Parvati asked.

Harry nodded. "She's been in hiding like the rest of my family."

"My daddy had to help Uncle Harry get rid of a bad man," Katie told them.

"That's right, sweetie," he said, hugging her close before speaking to the Patel twins. "If you girls will excuse me, I need to go say goodbye to my family." He carried Katie over to where his family was standing off to the side.

Even though his father, brother and godfather had been cleared, everyone seemed to be giving them a wide berth. Everyone except, strangely enough, the Weasley family. He settled Katie on his hip and greeted Ginny with a kiss.

"I have something to show you on the train," she told him.

He nodded and put Katie down, accepting a hug from Molly and a handshake from Arthur. Turning to Andromeda, he gave her a hug and took his young godson into his arms. It hit him then just how much had changed since his first year.

As a first year he had been all alone and if it hadn't been for the Weasleys, he probably wouldn't have made it on the train at all. Now he had a rather large family, Weasleys included.

Handing Teddy back to Andromeda, he knelt down in front of his two youngest  
siblings. Lily threw her arms around his neck. "You can't go," she told  
him.

"Christmas will be here before you know it, princess," he said, holding her  
close and kissing the top of her head.

"It's a long way away, Harry."

"You can write me whenever you miss me."

"Everyday?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Everyday. Draco too. I bet he'll like getting letters from you too."

Reg sighed dramatically. "My turn, Liliana..."

Sniffling, Lily kissed Harry's cheek and went to say goodbye to Draco.

Reg leaned against his older brother. Harry wrapped an arm around the boy.  
"We'll go flying at Christmas. You, me and Draco."

"But I don't fly good like you two..."

"Just keep practicing, buddy. That's the best way to get better at  
something."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Reg wrapped his arms around Harry's neck and hugged him tightly. As Harry held his baby brother close, he marveled again at just how much his world had changed in the last few months. "Take good care of Teddy for me, alright?" Reg nodded against his shoulder before stepping back with a sniffle. Harry ruffled the boy's hair as he stood, facing his parents. "Father," he said, holding out his hand.

Lucius grabbed his hand and pulled him into a quick hug. "We're proud of you, Harry."

"I know," he replied.

"Look after your brother..."

"Of course."

Lucius smiled and gently touched his cheek before turning Harry over to his mother. Narcissa took his face in both of her hands, kissing his brow. "We love you, Harry, very much."

"I...I love you too, Mother," he told her softly.

She pulled him into a hug. "Behave and take care of yourself. Draco too."

"I will."

She kissed his cheek as the train whistle blew. "Hurry now..."

He gave her another hug before hurrying to the train with Draco and Aurora. Severus gave his wife and daughter another hug and kiss, promising to see them that weekend at their new home in Hogsmeade. Then he turned and followed his godchildren to the train. He along with Bill, Fleur and Charlie Wealsey would be riding the Express to Hogwarts with the students in order to prevent any of the uncaptured Death Eaters from trying anything. The staff at the school had decided that a train full of students would present too tempting a target. So the four Order members would be there with the returning seventh years and remaining members of the DA as back-up if needed.

Harry and Draco found the other returning students in a large compartment and settled on the same bench, Ginny following them in and sitting next to her betrothed. She pulled a magazine out of her bag and handed it to him. It was a copy of _Witch Weekly_ and on the cover was a picture of Harry and Draco that could only have been taken at the Quidditch World Cup a week after their party. The afternoon before the game Harry and Draco had taken part in a mock duel, much to the delight to the people staying near them. The photo in question had been taken as they stood back to back before pacing off their steps and beginning their duel. They had been laughing at each other and it had taken them a few minutes before they could keep their faces straight enough to start. The caption on the picture said '1998's Most Eligible Bachelors'. He sighed deeply and handed the magazine to his brother. "Have you seen that?"

Draco looked at it and laughed. "I'm really not surprised, miniera del fratello."

"Stop showing off."

Draco threw the magazine back at him. "Read it out loud."

Harry rolled his eyes and opened to the article in question.

"_After much contemplation, Witch Weekly has decided to award this year's Most Eligible Bachelor to two young men who took the Wizarding World by storm with the announcement that they were twin brothers. These two young men had been considered as enemies and school rivals by their fellow students at Hogwarts School.__Harry James Potter__, the Boy-Who-Lived and the young man who defeated the Dark Lord for the final time the past May, was long believed to be the only child of James and Lily Potter. Mr. Potter shocked the Wizarding World when he stood up at the trial of Death Eaters __Severus Snape__ and Lucius and __Draco Malfoy__, claiming that he was the son of __Lucius Malfoy__ and twin brother of Draco. His defense of these three wizards, along with evidence left by the late __Albus Dumbledore__, cleared their names. Even though he is truly a Malfoy, he wishes to continue using the name 'Potter' to honor the memory of the couple who loved him as their own child and gave their life for his. Mr. Potter was named the heir of both the Potter and Black families.__Draco Lucius Malfoy__ is the oldest son of Lucius and __Narcissa Malfoy__. Lucius Malfoy was believed to be one of only three __Death Eaters__ in the Dark Lord's inner circle. Even though they, and Severus Snape, bear the Mark, the three Death Eaters had been spying for the Order of the Pheonix. When his maternal aunt, Bellatrix LeStrange, died along with her husband Rodolphus and his brother Rabastan, during the Battle at Hogwarts it was discovered that the younger Malfoy had been named the Heir of the LeStrange  
fortune as well as being his father's Heir."_ Harry looked over at Draco. "You never told me that."

"

"

"You never asked," Draco responded.

"You know Harry doesn't ask things like that, miniera del fratello," said a voice from between the brothers.

They both looked down, surprised to see Aurora sitting between them, her nose buried in a book. "When did you get here?" Draco asked her.

She looked up at him. "I've been here since we got on the train," she replied.

"Shouldn't you be with some of the other first years?" Harry asked.

"Probably," she said saucily. "But I like it here."

Harry looked at Draco. "She's stubborn like you."

"Yes...but she looks more like you," Draco told his twin.

"That means she's better looking than you, right?" Ginny teased.

"Watch it, ma chere souer," he growled.

Aurora looked around Harry at Ginny. "He's showing off again." She shrieked as Draco pulled her into his arms and started tickling her.

Laughing, Harry put his arm around Ginny. "It's good to be going back to Hogwarts."

She nodded, snuggling into his side. "It will be an interesting year…a year of rebuilding and recovering."

**The End**

**AN: I hope you have enjoyed this story. There will be a sequel, though I can't make any promises on when I'll start on it. Real life has been kinda crazy lately and it has been affecting the muses. The title of the sequel is: Rebuilding and Recovering.**

**Translations:**

**miniera del fratello – Italian – brother mine**

**ma chere souer – French – my dear sister**


	41. Chapter 41

**AN: Just a quick note to let everyone know that I have posted the first chapter of the sequel "Rebuilding & Recovering". Enjoy.**


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